Things To Do: Trains, Trails, Lights… and Socks!
Polar Express tickets available
Clinton’s Olde Towne Depot will offer three opportunities for children to get into the holiday spirit with The Polar Express Pajama Party on Friday and Saturday, December 6 and 7.
Kids are encouraged to come dressed in their cozy pajamas for the event.
Children, accompanied by a parent or other adult, will enjoy a holiday train ride on Turner the Train, hot cocoa and cookies, and a special gift, as well as a screening of the film, The Polar Express, a much-loved story of an imaginative young boy and his Christmas Eve train ride.
On Friday, the train rides begin at 5:30 p.m., with the movie starting at 6:30 p.m. A matinee on Saturday brings 2 p.m. train rides and the movie at 3 p.m. And the final party on Saturday will begin with train rides at 5:30 p.m. and the movie at 6:30 p.m.
Tickets are $10 per person for children and adults, and space is limited.
Tickets can be reserved at www.OldeTowneDepot.com/at/events/polar-express-pajama-party.
For more information, call the Depot at 601-924-0113.
Lighting of the Quad at MC arrives early, stays lit through Christmas Day
The Quad at Mississippi College will be awash in twinkling Christmas lights through Christmas Day.
Special to The Clinton Courier
The Christmas season at Mississippi College officially begins on Tuesday, December 3, with the traditional Lighting of the Quad event in Clinton.
Thousands of holiday bulbs will bathe the idyllic heart of MC’s campus with white light in a display that, to many Clintonians, signals the holidays have arrived.
The Quad will be lit early this year because of how MC’s Thanksgiving holiday falls on the academic calendar. Jonathan Nutt, associate dean of students, said the theme, “Home Away from Home for the Holidays,” is indicative of how students feel about Mississippi College.
“They consider MC to be their second home and want to make Christmas feel just as special here as when they are home during the holiday break,” he said.
“Lighting of the Quad is one of the many times where it feels like MC is a big family, and we get to share in some holiday cheer,” said Anna-Claire Young, a junior psychology major from Southaven. “It feels nostalgic and cozy.”
Along with the light display, the ceremony includes several family-friendly activities that can also be enjoyed by area residents and their families, many of whom attended MC and who say they have such fond memories of the evening that they return annually with their children and grandchildren.
Some of this year’s highlights include a candlelit singing of “Silent Night,” a special reading of the Christmas story, a “Candy Cane Lane” featuring Santa’s workshop, holiday train rides, the opportunity to write cards to local nursing home residents and – of course – a stopover by Santa Claus.
Robert Lewis, director of the Campus Programming Board, said the event provides lots of lighted décor for everyone to enjoy.
“Each of the clubs and tribes compete to see who can decorate a Christmas tree the best,” said Lewis, a senior interpersonal communications major from Hoover, Alabama.
“We want every student, staff member, faculty member and community member to feel the joy of the holiday season,” Nutt said.
The lights will be lit throughout the night through December 25, and the public is encouraged to drive by or park and take a walk among the twinkling wonderland.
Festival of Lights offers worshipful experience
The annual Mississippi College Festival of Lights, held in Provine Chapel on the Clinton campus, carries on a tradition that began in 1986 under the direction of Dr. Richard Joiner. MC faculty members join the MC Singers to present a program of music and scripture readings in the English tradition of “Lessons and Carols.”
Each year, the festival begins and ends with the choir entering and leaving the chapel by candlelight, singing “Of the Father’s Love Begotten,” making the event a worshipful experience steeped in tradition.
This year’s Festival of Lights, which is open to the public, will be held on December 5, 6 and 7 at 7 p.m.
Tickets, which are $20 for adults and $10 for students from any school, children, MC faculty and staff, and senior citizens, are available at Music.MC.edu/tickets.
For information about the MC Department of Music events, call 601-925-3440.
Deck the Trails offers winter wonderland in nature
Clintonians can enjoy seeing the Clinton Community Nature Center trails lit by Christmas lights and decorations December 12 through 14.
by Emma Ellard
The Clinton Community Nature Center (CCNC) is transforming its trails into a winter wonderland from December 12 through 14 for Deck the Trails, the conservation center’s annual Christmas event. Local residents are invited to get into the holiday spirit and explore the trails from 5 until 8 p.m. each night of the event’s three-day runtime. Sunday, December 15, is being reserved as a rain day, in case of weather delays.
Organizers say the highlight of the event will be the intricate decorations strung throughout the trails, which will stretch from the Nature Center’s amphitheater through the Old Natchez Trace and butterfly garden. According to CCNC co-director Claire Floyd, the Deck the Trails route has been adjusted from years past for increased accessibility.
“We wanted to make it accessible for strollers, wheelchairs and anyone who can’t or is not able to take the stairs,” Floyd said. “We’re doing the loop on the opposite end than we normally do.”
Attendees will be able to find several themed sections on their trek through the trails, each outfitted with special features like projector lights and ornate Christmas trees.
In addition to the lights and decorations, guests can also expect to find appearances from Santa Claus, as well as performances in the Center’s natural amphitheater by local musical and theatrical artists. One lineup standout is Jackson husband-and-wife duo, The Wild Flowers, who will sing a selection of carols on Saturday night from 7:30 until 8 p.m. Other performers include the Brick Street Players, set to perform theatrical excerpts on Thursday night from 6:10 to 6:40 p.m.; Clinton High School’s Arrow Theatre, which will enact readings on Saturday night from 6:50 to 7:20 p.m., and various local choirs, who will give short Christmas concerts on Friday night from 6:10 to 7:20 p.m. and on Saturday night from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.
The amphitheater is also currently being outfitted for additional accessibility.
“It does have stairs that lead down, but we’ve got four benches that we’re working on at the top of the amphitheater, so people who can’t use the stairs can sit at the top and still join in on the caroling,” Floyd said.
The inclusive, family-friendly event is the Nature Center’s biggest of the year.
“We are really excited,” Floyd said. “It’ll be a really fun event.”
Tickets cost $7, although CCNC members only have to pay $5. Children ages three and under are offered free admission. Guests can also purchase concessions and souvenirs at various vendor stands and the Nature Center’s own gift shop.
More information about the event can be found at ClintonNatureCenter.org/deck-the-trails-2024, or by contacting the Nature Center at 601-926-1104.
The Clinton Community Nature Center is located at 617 Dunton Road. Tickets can be obtained at the gates each night of the event.
Christmas trains filling Olde Towne Depot for holidays
The Olde Towne Depot (pictured in 2023) is planning for an even bigger display of holiday trains this season.
By Sherry Lucas
Trains have long been associated with Christmas, and not just because the holiday’s impending arrival always feels like a runaway freight variety. Rails can be the delivery mechanism for everything from far-flung family members to long-hoped-for gifts, and the nostalgia quotient is a delightful grace note.
At the Olde Towne Depot, trains are part and parcel of the appeal, and Christmas puts a merry focus on that. Fans can find a new attraction there this season, with a Christmas Train Tree that went up in early December, featuring a 6-by-3-foot tree-shaped structure displaying three different Christmas trains making their way ‘round it.
“They are Christmas-themed trains, carrying trees and presents, and one of them has a light-up Christmas track,” said Main Street Clinton Assistant Manager and Olde Towne Depot manager Ashley Hammack, who is eager to share this new addition with the community. “I’m pumped to unpack them!” she said earlier in November. The O-scale model Lionel Christmas trains bring in one more burst of holiday cheer to a public space that brims with it this time of year.
Also, Lucky Osborne’s new permanent train display at the Depot, with several Clinton buildings from the 1950s, includes a special seasonal touch – a miniature Christmas parade on the brick streets, complete with a marching band.
“It is amazing!” Hammack said. “We have had a 1930s display for the past couple of years, but he just built the ‘50s display within the last couple of months.”
The Depot’s Christmas Village Train Display goes up Saturday, December 14, and will continue to charm visitors through January 10. The week of December 14 through 21 is a prime time to drop by, when visitors can also catch the culinary creativity of fellow community members in the annual Gingerbread House Competition. Entries will be arranged around the room, vying for visitors’ People’s Choice votes, as trains choo-choo through the Christmas village in the center on an 8-by-8-foot display.
“Plenty of people come in for that … they’ll watch the trains for twenty to thirty minutes, just go around and around,” Hammack said. “It is very popular with kids, who just want to check out something different.” Clintonians are encourage to visit during the season, with Depot hours being 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesdays through Saturdays.
Train display setup is the work of the Olde Towne Rail Club. Club member Ted Lyons said railroads are in his family’s blood. His great-grandfather worked with Illinois Central’s City of New Orleans, primarily in the RPO (Rail Post Office).
“That sparked a fascination with my uncle, which I guess sort of sparked a fascination with me,” Lyons said. “That’s how I got involved with trains. I just think they’re neat.”
Club members are railroad enthusiasts, most of them modelers who like to play with the model trains and build layouts. And, while the large layout is now a summer highlight at the Depot, and the holiday version has been shrunk down somewhat to accommodate other Depot activities, the sight still delights.
“Anybody could come check it out, and watch the trains go around,” Lyons said. “A lot of children tend to like that, which is a joy to me. I was one of those kids, back in the day.” He chuckled. “I still am one on those kids, I guess.”
“I’m looking forward to the day a lot of these kids join the club,” said Lyons. “If you like trains, come on!”
Community invited to Dec. 19 Holiday Sock Exchange
By Sherry Lucas
Olde Towne Depot Manager Ashley Hammack hopes folks will warm to a fun new event there this season: the Holiday Sock Exchange.
The event, planned for 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, December 19, promises a spirited evening that will warm the toes of anyone who comes – think Dirty Santa with plenty of socks appeal and family fun.
A vast array of holiday socks hits the market this time of year, from holiday lights to jingle bells, Santa hats to Rudolph noses. Hammack says this gathering is a prime time to indulge, and grab some good ol’ Clinton Christmas spirit while you’re at it.
Each attendee should bring a gift-wrapped pair of holiday socks in their own size (adults bring an adult pair, kids bring a kids-sized pair), to add to the exchange pile. Each person gets a number, which determines their place in line. Going by the numbers, each person can pick a gift from the pile, or have a shot at “stealing” a gift someone else has already opened — all in good-natured fun.
“I just wanted one more fun event to round out our Christmas displays and celebrations,” Hammack said, “and since this is also happening during the week of the Gingerbread House Competition, it gives people a chance to come in and vote for the People’s Choice. It’s just a community event to bring people in for the train displays and to vote for their favorite gingerbread house.”
Refreshments will be provided, and the event will likely end by 7:30 p.m. So, for those who are looking for a quick and fun holiday hit and the chance to get their hands on and feet in something festive, the Holiday Sock Exchange fits the bill.
“My goal is to have more community events, and just bring people in to the Depot to experience different activities, different attractions,” Hammack said. “It’s primarily used as an event center, but I want to bring families in, bring the community in and make this a true community space.”
Also, “I love some holiday socks,” she said. “I know a lot of people do ugly Christmas sweaters, but those are a bit of commitment. Socks are not really expensive, you can find them everywhere and it opens it up to a broad audience.
“I like the idea that they’re inexpensive, still fun and bring in the Christmas spirit of people getting together, without spending a ton of money.”
