Tree Lighting Festival
The Chandler Area Chamber of Commerce will kick off the Christmas season, 6 p.m., Friday, Dec. 3, with the Annual Tree Lighting Festival in Downtown Chandler at the Lincoln County Courthouse. The event will continue until 8 p.m. at which time the tree will be lit.
In addition to a Tree Lighting Ceremony, there will be downtown shopping, retail vendors and food trucks, children’s Christmas crafts and more. Several contests are planned including competition for choirs, courthouse door decorating, gingerbread house decorating and an ugly sweater contest.
Contest Details
Deadline for registration for the choir competition is Friday, Nov. 19. There are three categories - Youth, Adult (churches, semi-professional groups), and Business, which is any business that wants to put together a choir whom normally does not sing together. Each choir will sing two to three songs.
Entry forms for the gingerbread house contest must be submitted to the Chamber by 5 p.m., Dec. 3. To be eligible for the competition, a completed entry form must be submitted. Forms are available at the Chamber. Houses must be constructed and decorated at home and can be made with graham crackers or gingerbread. Other guidelines are listed on the entry forms.
Prizes will be awarded for 1 st , 2 nd and 3 rd place in each of three divisions. The divisions are Family: Parent(s) and child(ren) under the age of 18; Child: Individual child, age 8-17; Adult: Individual adult, age 18 and older.
Annual Christmas Parade
The Chandler Area Chamber invites you to participate in the Annual Christmas Parade on Saturday, Dec. 4. Citizens of the Year, the Lincoln County Health Department, will serve as Grand Marshall for the parade. Santa Claus will be in the Courthouse lobby immediately after the Christmas Parade.
A monetary prize will be awarded to the first, second and third place float winners. The theme for this year’s parade is “An all American Christmas.”
To be eligible for prize money, you must follow the theme. First place winner will receive $100, second place gets $75 and third wins $50.
Parade line-up will take place at 10 a.m. at the corner of Sixth and Steele near Memorial School. The parade will begin promptly at 11 a.m., traveling south down Manvel Ave.
Confirm your participation as early as possible by calling the Chamber office at (405) 258-0673 or by e-mailing chandlerchamber@gmail.com.
Christmas Bucks
The Chandler Chamber will give away $1,000 in Chamber Bucks at the end of the parade in front of H&S Theater. Prizes of $500, $300, and $200 will be given away drawn from tickets given out by Chandler Area Chamber members from Nov. 1 to Dec. 3.
Look for participating businesses with flyers in their windows to get your free tickets. The prizes can only be redeemed at businesses, which are members of the Chandler Area Chamber of Commerce. You must be present to win.
Decorating Contests
Businesses and homeowners can win prizes for decorating their storefronts or homes. The business contest is limited to the immediate Chandler area. The winner of the business contest will win a Chandler Area Chamber of Commerce membership (minimum level, valued at $140) for 2022.
The home contest winner will receive two tickets to the Chamber’s annual banquet held in February 2022 (valued at $50). Homes will be judged on the outside only and are limited to a five-mile radius of Chandler city limits.
Participants can use the parade theme of “An All American Christmas,” but are not obligated to do so. Entries must be registered with the Chamber by 4 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 1, to qualify for judging. To register, call (405) 258-0673 of email chandlerchamber@gmail.com. Judging will take place no later than Thursday, Dec. 2. Winners will be announced after the parade.
For information on any of the above, contact Chamber Executive Director Marilyn Emde at (405) 258-0673.