Natchitoches Christmas Festival

Natchitoches Christmas Festival

Late November through New Year's Eve

Named after a Native American tribe, Natchitoches (pronounced Nack-a-tish ) is the oldest permanent settlement in the Louisiana Purchase Territory. It is also home to one of the oldest community-based holiday celebrations in the country. Since 1927, both townspeople and visitors have made the festival a fixture in their holiday routine.
The Natchitoches Christmas Festival keeps families entertained for over six weeks. The Festival of Lights, held the weekend before Thanksgiving, opens the season with a brilliant display of Christmas lights in the Downtown Historic District. Natchitoches coordinates with Shreveport-Bossier City, Louisiana, and six Texas cities to join together a Trail of Lights that stretches between all the municipalities.
The Christmas Festival, which draws more than 100,000 people, is the premier event of the festival season. The Christmas Festival is observed with a parade, an assortment of river bank booths, arts and crafts, and a traditional fireworks show over Cane River Lake. The fireworks tradition dates as far back as the late 1930s.
The festivities continue up until the New Year's Eve celebration, with guided tours of holiday homes, nightly excursions by streetcar or carriages, and additional fireworks shows that are held each Saturday evening.

CONTACTS:
Natchitoches Convention and Visitor's Bureau
781 Front St.
Natchitoches, LA 71457
800-259-1714; fax: 318-352-2415
www.christmasfestival.com