Christmas in Paul Anderson Park Starts Big Christmas Weekend in Toccoa
Christmas in Toccoa officially kicks off tomorrow with the Christmas in the Park event at Paul Anderson Park. The event begins at 10 A.M. and culminates with the Christmas Tree Lighting around 7:15 P.M.
After a year off, the Varsity returns and will be serving lunch from 10:30 A.M.-2 P.M. and supper from 4-7 P.M. Ann Pickett is on the Paul Anderson Park Board “Tickets to eat are $10. You can come on the day of and get tickets, but you can purchase in advance at Sanders Drugs and the Toccoa-Stephens County Chamber of Commerce.”
Pickett says that you can contribute to the fundraiser in other ways. “We will have raffle tickets for bicycles sponsored by 1st Franklin, Big Green Egg donated by the Caudell family, and then we also have the silent auction with opportunities to bid on the children’s spots at the Athens Y Camp and Camp Chattooga, and a condo at Amelia Island donated by Dr. Jim Wade. So people have a lot of opportunities to come out and support us and the money is used to maintain the park. We are working as a board to try to have the money so that we can have funds to maintain the park. We are a private board and we do have to raise the money ourselves to maintain the park.”
The event will also include Santa Claus and entertainment including the First Baptist Church pre-school, Stephens County Middle and High School Chorus, the Rhythm Dance Academy Company, and Pickett says the entertainment will include what has become a tradition. “The Stephens County High School cheerleaders and football players will be caroling like they have in the past. Mr. Roy English will be telling the story of Christmas, and we are excited that Mr. Buster Smith, a long-time supporter of the park, will be the official lighting the Christmas tree.”
Christmas in the Park is just the start of a series of Christmas events in Toccoa. Toccoa Falls College’s Christmas Concert will be Thursday night at 7 P.M., Toccoa Main Street’s Christmas Fest will be on Friday night from 6-9 P.M., the Toccoa Christmas Parade will be in Downtown Toccoa on Saturday morning at 10 A.M., and the Toccoa Symphony Orchestra will have the “Christmas Festival of Music and Arts” on Sunday at 4 P.M. in the Grace Alford Center of the Performing Arts on the campus of Toccoa Falls College.