Downtown Trenton will be lit up for the holidays on Friday, Dec. 9 as the Trenton Area Chamber of Commerce will hold its “Trenton Downtown Christmas” activities from 5:30 to 8 p.m.
Music, food and several contests will be among the events taking place during the evening, which will include the traditional lighting of the Mayor’s Christmas Tree in Sesquicentennial Park. As in the past, one lucky youth will have their name drawn to assist Mayor Dr. Nick McHargue to kick off the holiday season.
The evening begins at 4:30 p.m., when the Joseph L. Norton Post No. 919 VFW Hall will be the site of a soup supper that will continue through 8 p.m. There will also be food available at Sweet Praises and Chumbley’s Bar and Grill as well as Cooksey’s Kettle Corn near Five Points.
A cookie walk will be held at “The Space,” located at 1310 Main St. The Hodge Presbyterian Church will have a variety of cookies for sale. There will be hot cocoa and warm cider for sale at The Space as well as a gingerbread house contest for youth ages 4 to 13 years of age.
The opening ceremonies are slated for a 5:30 p.m. start in Sesquicentennial Park, with Dave Burkeybile serving as master of ceremonies. Pastor Steve Merrin of the Hodge Presbyterian Church will have the opening prayer, followed at 5:45 p.m. by a performance from the Rissler Elementary School Honor Choir, under the direction of Rachel Lorenz.
Santa will make his arrival at 6 p.m. in a limo, accompanied by his elves and other mascots who will be available to meet with children and distribute maps of the location of various activities. Santa will also be available for photo-ops.
The Mayor’s Christmas tree lighting takes place at 6:15 p.m. Children who are interested in being in the drawing to assist Mayor McHargue with the tree lighting can sign up at various businesses in the downtown area, with one name to be drawn on Wednesday, Dec. 7. Lucky Dog, Gilworth Furniture and Flooring, Howard’s, Sweet Praises, Simply Chic, Trenton Hardware, Main Street Mall, Hoarder’s Treasures, North Grand River Baptist Association and Chumbley’s are among the places where youth can sign up. All of those businesses, along with the Grundy County Museum and The Space, will be open throughout the evening.
Following the lighting ceremony, the Trenton High School choir “Gold Rush” will perform under the direction of R-9 Vocal Music Instructor Tyler Busick. The Mic-O-Say Dancers will perform at 6:45 p.m. at Gilworth’s.
Carriage rides are planned throughout the night, beginning at 6:15 p.m. David Kurtz and Amy Manning will be providing the rides, with the Grundy County Museum main building being the pick-up spot. The museum will also have several holiday photo opportunities available as well as children’s coloring.
Two new activities are being added to this year’s celebration, one that begins earlier in the day and involves “ugly sweaters.” Businesses and/or families are invited to dress up in their ugliest Christmas sweaters and have their picture taken, then post the picture on the Trenton Downtown Christmas Facebook page by 6 p.m. that evening. Photos can also be texted to 314-960-3708. Photos should include information about the group, including who is included in the photo. Prizes will be given for “downright ugly”, “most creative” and “prettiest ugly.” Winners will be announced at 7 p.m. at the Five Points flag pole.
An adult scavenger hunt is planned at 7:30 p.m. Registration can be done at Sweet Praises.
The Dockery Chapel Church will have a live Nativity scene at the gated lot, just north of Sweet Praises on Main Street. There will also be a Christmas village and a “dog in car.”