Have a Holly, Jolly Hometown Holidays: Annual Christmas event returns to Tifton
Published 10:37 am Tuesday, December 10, 2024
TIFTON — While it might be a stretch to call it a “Miracle on Main Street,” this year’s Hometown Holidays nonetheless left patrons feeling full of Christmas spirit.
The return of the winter season also brought the coming of Tifton’s annual holiday celebration, inviting residents to Main Street Dec. 7 take part in a night of holly jolly festivities and usher in the season of giving.
The celebration kicked off like always with the holiday parade, local organizations and businesses in the community decked in red, green, and twinkling lights as they rolled down 2nd St and onto Love Avenue in promenade.
Many of the floats paid homage to the parade’s “Christmas Around the World” theme, sporting globes and flags of various countries alongside their festive features.
And of course, taking up the rear of the procession and led by a convoy of police cars and emergency vehicles was old Saint Nick, waving to onlookers and wishing them a Merry Christmas from atop a city fire truck.
Once the parade had made its way down Love Avenue, patrons of the holiday celebration flocked to Main Street for the bulk of the night’s festivities.
Vendors lined both sides of the road practically from 2nd St down to 3rd and even spilling onto those intersections, offering passersby last minute gift ideas in the form of jewelry, toys, or decorations, or a warm snack to help stave off the evening cold.
The Cato Knight parking lot was fully stocked with food vendors as well, providing piping hot food like burgers, hot dogs, Mexican, and fair food for patrons to enjoy amid the event’s festivities.
Several of Downtown Tifton’s businesses gladly kept their doors open during the festivities to welcome patrons for a bit of shopping, including Don Julio’s, Savor the Flavor, who were hosting their own pop-up market in the square behind their store, and the newly opened downtown location of Red Owl Coffee Company.
1st St became host to the more holiday themed activities of the celebration, encouraging guests to write letters to Santa, enjoy hot cocoa and popcorn from the Tift Animal Rescue and the city fire department, respectively, try out a handful of winter-themed games and activities–including frolicking around in a life-sized snowglobe–or make their way down to the corner of 1st and Commerce Way for a bit of ice skating.
And once the sun had set, Mayor Julie Smith took to the stage on 1st St to wish everyone a happy Hometown Holidays and light the trees over City Hall.
Wanting a bit of help in illuminating those Christmas trees, Smith invited a handful of kids up on stage to do the honors, presenting them with a “magic switch” required to make the trees merry and bright.
After a countdown, a flip of the switch, and the crowd believing with all their heart, the trees lit up in brilliant gold lights and shining white stars, and Santa himself stepped out onto the balcony to once again wish the crowd a Merry Christmas.
Smith then encouraged those attending the festivities to enjoy themselves at the holiday event for the remainder of the evening, thanking them for coming out to celebrate the Christmas spirit alongside her and the rest of their community.
