Four area towns offer Christmas events Saturday

Jackson, Scott City and Chaffee will host parades to usher in Santa Claus on Saturday, offering up a large helping of floats and carols and a side of hot chocolate and cookies for good measure.

There will be time to make two parades, if a person is so inclined. The Chaffee parade begins at 1 p.m., while Jackson’s and Scott City’s start at 5 p.m.

For the first time, Scott City will host a town festival before its parade, while Jackson uptown businesses are staying open late and offering giveaways.

There’s much more than the parades scheduled for Saturday, however, and those inclined to get out and celebrate the season will have tough choices to make. The weekend’s schedule is full of Christmas festivities that include home tours, special Nativity displays, heritage Christmas tree exhibits, concerts, open houses, charity wreath-making workshops and much more.

For a complete listing, visit www.semoevents.com.

Jackson

Jackson’s parade, which will have about 55 entrants plus bands and other organizations, will begin at Southern Bank on Main and Farmington streets and end up in uptown Jackson. The parade will include carolers walking up and down the parade route before and after the parade.

Hot chocolate and warm stories will be served at the Cape Girardeau County History Center on High Street. And children can get their photos taken at the gazebo as well.

But there’s more to Saturday’s Christmas fun than the parade and goodies.

For the third year, the uptown Jackson business community is adding a business component to the mix, offering a stamp program and more than $1,000 in giveaways to promote the shopping-small movement, said Christmas parade committee member and Uptown Jackson Revitalization Organization board member Jessica Keen. The uptown shops will stay open until 8 p.m.

Scott City

Scott City is doing things a bit differently this year.

Along with a new parade route, the city will host a “Christmas in Our Town” festival, which also is the theme for the parade.

The festival will host vendors and activities for children such as ornament and gingerbread-house making and a scavenger hunt before the parade. The parade route will run along Main Street from Crites Street and end near Miller Drywall, parks and recreation director Skylar Cobb said.

After the parade, at the Scott City Historical Museum the honor choir will sing carols while children can get photos with Santa. Hot chocolate and cookies will be served, and there will be a lighting of the town tree. Cobb said there are about 25 floats or organizations in the parade this year.

Chaffee

The parade in Chaffee will begin at 1 p.m., and run from the Chaffee Head Start parking lot and end at the high-school parking lot on West Yoakum Avenue.

Parade coordinator H.B. Rice said the town has held a Christmas parade for decades, adding he expects a dozen or so floats and three bands to participate. Plus, there’s the benefit of free hot dogs and hot chocolate at the high-school activity center after the parade from the Chaffee Chamber of Commerce.

“You show up, and you get a hot dog,” Rice quipped. “We don’t even ID.”

Rice said the top three floats will win a prize.

Cape Girardeau

The Cape Girardeau Downtown Open House continues from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.

The event, organized by Old Town Cape, features live caroling throughout downtown and on the trolley. The public can journey to Whoville at the Catapult Creative House at 612 Broadway and have pictures taken with the Grinch.

Downtown visitors can register for two $500 downtown shopping sprees at participating businesses.

The Lutheran Family and Children Services Home Tour will take place Saturday as well. Five homes are on the tour, and money raised goes toward LFCS services. Tickets are available at The Bank of Missouri locations in Cape Girardeau, Jackson, Perryville and Marble Hill, Missouri; Patrick Furniture; Southeast Hospital gift shop; Sunny Hill Garden Center; and the LFCS office.

If a person is fond of Nativities, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is hosting a “Nativities from around the World” walking tour that is handicap-accessible. It will take about 20 minutes to walk through and see the 500 nativities from 30 countries. The display is open from 3 to 7 p.m. Saturday.

Reporter Mark Bliss contributed to this report.

bmiller@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3625