Dalton Holiday Festival kicks off holiday season
“’Tis the Season to Mingle and Jingle” is the theme of the 47th annual Dalton Holiday Festival Dec. 1-3.
For the 47th year, the village of Dalton will host the Dalton Holiday Festival Dec. 1-3.
“’Tis the Season to Mingle and Jingle” is this year’s theme.
All ages can come together to celebrate the holiday season at events that will again include a parade, a holiday boutique and contests.
“Our festival committee’s goal is to spread the joy and love of Christmas, share our wonderful small town, and provide a shopping experience that provides unique gifts and helps small businesses,” said Suzanne Snyder, royalty co-coordinator and public relations manager for the festival.
Local businesses wanting to compete in the holiday lights contest should have their decorations up and lights on in time for the Tuesday, Nov. 28 judging.
“One of the newest and most fun parts that was added is the Gingerbread House Contest. It’s a fun family activity to do together or for someone who loves to create, and it’s a great way to show off your talent,” Snyder said. “It is so much fun to see all the cute houses that are submitted. We will have entry forms available through a link on our Facebook page.”
Drop-off time and place will be Friday, Dec. 1 from 4-7 p.m. at the Dalton Presbyterian Church, and the gingerbread houses will be on display both Saturday and Sunday.
Friday evening will officially kick off the weekend. From 5-7:30 p.m. downtown businesses will be open, and some will have snacks and drinks while the Dalton High School Choralation choir will carol.
At 7:30 p.m. crowning and presentations will happen at Village Hall including the crowning of snow princess, Little Jack Frost, Little Miss Snowflake and the queen. This year the committee has chosen Blake and Deborah Nussbaum, owners of Dalton Hardware, as the grand marshals and Nate and Lisa Ellet, well-known faces in Dalton and owners of Ambolina’s, as the Citizens of the Year.
Santa also will walk around downtown Friday evening, and kids of all ages can get their picture taken with him.
Mrs. Claus’ Pantry will be located in the Dalton Presbyterian Church, where they will sell hard tack candy and 50/50 tickets on Friday night, Dec. 1.
On Saturday, Dec. 2, the Rotary Club will offer a breakfast from 7-10 a.m. at Dalton Presbyterian Church, and the craft show will open at the high school at 9 a.m. and will go until 5 p.m.
The parade will kick off Saturday at 2 p.m., and Santa will visit again from 3-4:30 p.m. at Dalton High School.
A ham dinner will be offered on Sunday, Dec. 3 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., and the craft show will again be open from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Dalton High School.
Santa will be up for visits on Sunday from 12:30-3 p.m., and the community can get involved in turkey bowling at 2 p.m.
“The biggest challenge we have faced is (finding) volunteers. We really need more and new volunteers to come in and help us with the festival,” Snyder said. “We meet every month from January through September and then twice a month in October and November. We meet the second Thursday of the month at 7 p.m.
“Post-COVID we have been working to ensure that we are providing a one-stop holiday shopping experience, which has meant that we are relooking at what we offer and how the festival is set up. We are seeing more growth again this year after a slow start bringing back the craft show due to the COVID uncertainties for a couple of years. We absolutely love spreading the joy and magic of the holidays at our festival. We enjoy engaging with our community and making a difference.”
Snyder said the holiday festival committee is looking forward to bringing back more of the pieces of the festival this year and meeting the new vendors that are coming to share their talents.
“We also truly enjoy highlighting the wonderful downtown businesses that we have and being able to kick off the Christmas season together with our community,” Snyder said. “We love our community and Christmas, and we hope to spread that to others when they come visit us.”
Follow Dalton Holiday Festival on Facebook.