Christmas is more than two months away, but there's already plans to bring the the North Pole to downtown Lafayette. Christmas events and decorations will soon fill downtown, for a month long celebration called, A Merry & Bright Downtown Christmas.
All December long, the seasonal celebration will feature a Christmas tree decorating contest, multiple concerts, a competition for best holiday window display, pictures with Santa, horse-drawn carriage rides, and a "North Pole" installation in Parc International. The announcement comes after the Oil Center Association canceled the festival of lights this year.
Some businesses are already in the Christmas spirit. "I'm always in the Christmas spirit, " Philippe Callais of Pamplona Tapas Bar said. "I can decorate now and put it up for the rest of the year.It's just a few little things to try and get people interested in what's to come."
What's to come at Pamplona Tapas Bar is a pop-up Christmas cocktail bar, known as Miracle. It's a month long event that will coincide with the Christmas festivities scheduled for downtown Lafayette.
"Downtown has been kind of dead during the Christmas season and we decided to do something," Maureen Dugas Foster with Downtown Lafayette Unlimited said. "It's perfect timing to make our announcement. "
Downtown Lafayette will soon transform into it's very own winter wonderland. A 25 foot tall Christmas tree, musical performances and other decorations will all be in the area throughout December. It's all a way to bring more people to the area and also a way to encourage them to support local businesses.
"Get more inclusive with our downtown businesses and bring more of our community into the heart of our city, " Foster said.
Merry & Bright Downtown Christmas begins with three events on the weekend of December 6-8. Things kick-off on Friday, December 6th, with a free concert called, "Christmas with the Boss" which will feature music by Keith Frank and The Pine Leaf Boys in addition to the lighting of the official Christmas tree of Lafayette and an opportunity to meet and take photos with Santa Claus.
"I think it's going to bring a lot of people to downtown," Callais said. "Instead of just having decorations, we're going to have events out here to engage people and bring families."
Click here for more information on the festivities.
