Christmas events plentiful in Tri-City area

Staff Report
’Tis the season for Christmas in the Tri-City area as several holiday events are scheduled throughout the area kicking off this weekend.
The second annual Spirit of Homes Tour will be held Saturday with proceeds benefitting St. Mary Outreach.
Tours will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and tickets are $20. Tickets are available from St. Mary Outreach, Alumni Shop and Wildflower Boutique, all in Morgan City. Participants may drop off their ticket (until 5 p.m. Dec. 2) at Latin Corner in Morgan City following their tour of homes for a chance in the door prize drawing.
Homes included in the tour include:
—Stephen Hebert and Mark Hebert at 618 Grove St. in Morgan City.
—Kim Hayes at 616 Grove St. in Morgan City.
—Craig Pontiff and Andrea Bourgeois at 1101 Federal Ave. in Morgan City.
—Marion Collins at 620 Federal Ave. in Morgan City.
—Eddie and Angela Anslum at 616 Federal Ave. in Morgan City.
—Trinity Episcopal Church at the corner of Second and Greenwood streets in Morgan City.
—Carter and Colleen Askew at 600 Techeview Drive in Berwick.
—Marianna McIntyre at 411 Renwick Blvd. in Berwick.
—Tiffany and James Stansbury III at 503 Avalon Court in Berwick.
Funds raised will help St. Mary Outreach, a private, non-profit emergency agency, to help residents in need from Calumet to Amelia with temporary emergency assistance.
Also Saturday, the City of Patterson will be hosting a movie presentation of The Polar Express in Morey Park. Santa Claus will be in the park at 6:30 p.m. for pictures with the movie presentation starting at 7 p.m.
The U.S. Marine Corps Band of New Orleans will have its annual Toys for Tots Christmas Concert at 7 p.m. Sunday at the Morgan City Municipal Auditorium. The concert is free and open to the public but a donation of a new, unwrapped toy is appreciated. Toy donations will go to help the Marine Corps League, St. Mary Detachment’s Toys for Tots drive. People may also make monetary donations with checks or money orders payable to Toys for Tots and mail them to P.O. Box 1383, Morgan City, LA 70381.
There are also about 40 Toys for Tots boxes at businesses and schools throughout St. Mary Parish where people can donate. Toys will be collected through Christmas day.
Anyone in need may apply for Toys for Tots by filling out an application by Dec. 4.
On Dec. 4, the Tri-City Youth Theatre will present “Frosty the Snowman” at 6:30 p.m. in the Morgan City Municipal Auditorium. Doors will open at 6 p.m. with limited seating. Tickets are $5.
“Come support the youth of our area. They have been working on this play since September and they will be really bummed if no one shows,” said Jessica Dubois, sponsor for the Tri-City Youth Theater.
Dubois said that children aged 5 to 18 from throughout the area will be in the play and have worked collectively as a team to put on the production.
On Dec. 7, M C Bank in conjunction with the American Cancer Society will host its 18th annual “Love Lights a Tree” Christmas Tree Lighting Open House. The event will be from 6-7 p.m. in the lobby of M C Bank at the corner of Victor II Boulevard and Brashear Avenue in Morgan City.
Holy Cross Elementary Youth Choir and Fiddling Classics will perform.
Paper ornaments will be put on the Christmas tree in honor of those who are living with cancer and those who didn’t survive. Ornaments are available at M C Bank. Monetary donations are welcomed with proceeds benefitting the American Cancer Society.
“We have donations anywhere from an elementary school child giving a penny to adults giving several hundred. Any monetary donation is accepted,” said Francis Dupre, human resources manager of M C Bank.
The event is free and open to the public.
On Dec. 8, Morgan City Main Street will have a movie presentation of “Arthur Christmas” at 6 p.m. in Lawrence Park. In case the weather is too cold or wet, the movie presentation will be moved to the Morgan City Municipal Auditorium.
The event is free and open to the public. People are asked to donate a jacket or coat for Animal Advocates for its Paying It Forward initiative.
On Dec. 9, the Junior Auxiliary of East St. Mary will have a Santa’s Workshop from 9:30 a.m. until noon in the Berwick Civic Complex. The event is free and open to the public. There will be pictures with Santa, arts and crafts, games and snacks.
Also that day, the Tri-City Track Club will be hosting the Amazing Jingle Race at 10 a.m. from Front Street to Lawrence Park in Morgan City. The race is open for youth ages 4 to 12 with adult teammate. Pre-registration is required, 985-518-6118.
Later that evening, it’s the 29th Bernice Street Christmas by Candlelight from 5:30 to 9 p.m.
“We just want to give back to the community by just giving them a place to come and see Christmas spirit,” said Virginia Smith, Bernice Street Christmas coordinator.
The free event invites guests to either walk or drive down Bernice Street to view residential Christmas decorations. There will also be refreshments, choir performances and a 60-foot-long train on which kids can take rides.
“We really want people who are able to walk the street, to do so. Driving through is for the elderly who can’t walk down the street,” said Smith.
Vehicles enter from Cottonwood Street and exit at Redwood Street.
Monetary and canned food donations are also being collected on behalf of St. Mary Outreach. Barrels for donation drop-offs will be placed on both ends of Bernice Street.
Also Dec. 9, the City of Patterson will host its 4th Annual Patterson Lower Atchafalaya Christmas Boat Parade at 6 p.m. Entry for the parade is $25. Any boat is welcomed as long as it’s decorated in a Christmas theme. Line up for the parade will begin at Captain Caviar and the parade will end at Bridge Road in the Lower Atchafalaya. There will be an award ceremony in Morey Park following the parade for the best three decorated boats.
On Dec. 10, Patterson will host a 4-Legged Friends Christmas Parade at noon. Line up begins at 11 a.m. at the Patterson Community Center at 203 Park St. For information call 985-395-4422.
Following the 4-Legged Christmas Parade, the city’s Annual Christmas Parade will begin at 2 p.m. at Place Norman Shopping Center on Main Street and end at Patterson High School. Participants in the parade are responsible for their own float and performances.
“The whole Christmas season is to show the community and community fellowship in the City of Patterson,” said Ryan Aucoin, City community development and affairs director.
On Dec. 11, Patterson will host its Annual City-Wide Christmas Lights Contest judging at 6 p.m. Residents wishing their houses to be judged are asked to put on their Christmas lights by 6 p.m. Winners will be announced at the first council meeting of the new year.
On Dec. 12, the Louisiana State Museum — Patterson, home of the Wedell-Williams Avia-tion and Cypress Sawmill museums, will host its 22nd Annual Christmas Tree Festival Exhibit Open House from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. Call 985-399-1268 for more information.
On Dec. 17, Pharr Chapel United Methodist Church on Federal Avenue in Morgan City will hold its Annual Christmas Cantata at 10 a.m.