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"An Old Fashion Christmas" Thursday, Nov. 20 Merrehope’s 40th Annual Trees of Christmas Candlelight Tour A tradition in Meridian since 1971, Merrehope’s Trees of Christmas Candlelight Tour will be held November 20. Held by the Meridian Restorations Foundation at Merrehope, Meridian’s only remaining antebellum home, the tour highlights a series of trees decorated in various themes. Wine and hors d’oeuvres will be available, and carolers will fill the beautiful mansion with the sounds of the holidays. Merrehope is located on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive off 8th Street. For more information, call 601-483-8439. Tuesday, Dec. 2
Christmas Tree Lighting (5:30
p.m.) Merry Meridian officially gets underway with the City of Meridian hosting its traditional tree lighting ceremony at 6 p.m. in Dumont Plaza. During this time, the plaza will be filled with the sounds of the season as revelers sing holiday carols. Live Nativity Pageant and Meridian Mass Choir (6:00 p.m.) Sponsored by 103.3 The Light, The Bible Book Store and Pearson & Company Insurance, in one of the most inspirational events during Merry Meridian, several churches come together to comprise the live nativity pageant. This year a play at Dumont Plaza will highlight the nativity story featuring a variety of scenes, a 300 member Meridian Mass Choirs, and musical ensembles. “This is an event you will not want to miss,” said Michele Pearson, one of the coordinators for Merry Meridian. “The whole family will thoroughly enjoy it.” For information about this year’s Live Nativity Pageant, call Kathy Carpenter at the Bible Book Store - 601-693-5966. Holiday Windows Contest (7:00 p.m.) Walk around beautiful downtown and view what our talent young students have decorated. Schools from the
City of Meridian and Lauderdale County participate in decorating these windows.
Thursday, Dec.
4 (8 p.m.) A Christmas Carol Meridian Little Theater The Meridian Little Theater will kick-off a series of performances of the Charles Dickens classic, A Christmas Carol. This musical adaptation will star Mayor John Robert Smith as “Scrooge”. Tremble with Scrooge at the sight of Marley’s ghost and rejoice with him when he sees the errors of his ways. Feel sorry for Bob Cratchit and Tiny Tim, and take comfort from the good spirits of Christmas who make everything right in the end. Shows will be held December 4-10. For information, call the Meridian Little Theatre at (601) 482-6371. Friday, Dec. 5
(7 p.m.) Miss Merry Meridian Pageant The “Miss Merry Meridian” pageant will begin at 7 p.m. in the Family Life Center at Highland Baptist Church with the winner acting as the Co-Grand Marshal of the holiday parade. The winner will also be the official spokesperson for Merry Meridian 2009. Meridian Symphony
Orchestra Concert: Peppermint Pops (8 p.m.) The Meridian Symphony Orchestra will present a special Christmas performance on December 5 at 8 p.m. Specific details about the concert will be released at a later date. Saturday, Dec. 6 (8 a.m.) Bank Plus 5K Jingle Bell Run The final day of Merry Meridian, Saturday, December 6, is the biggest of them all. The day will start early with the Bank Plus sponsored, 5K Jingle Bell Run at 8 a.m. Held by the Meridian Athletic Association hundreds of Meridian’s finest athletes start the competitive 5K run through downtown. For more information, call Melissa Estes at 601-479-0888. Merry Meridian Market (10 a.m.-3 p.m.) Sponsored by Trustmark Bank, the Merry Meridian Market at Dumont Plaza is one of the main highlights of the three day festivities. Beginning at 10 a.m., the Market features outdoor holiday shopping, entertainment from a variety of local talent, kids activities, food, Christmas goodies and more. Over 100 vendors from across Southeastern U.S. will be at the Market. “There will be an array of unique items for sale,” said Stacy Davis, who is coordinating the Market. “There will be holiday and home decor, gift ideas, art, clothing, toys, jewelry and so much more.” Besides holiday shopping, there will be plenty to do all day long during the event. There will be a Children’s Playground. For information, call Stacy Davis at 601-693-9797. Big Boy Toyland (10 a.m.-3 p.m.) Big Boy Toyland will feature this year’s newest designs in autos, golf equipment, ATVs, RVs, motorcycles, entertainment, recliners and hunting and fishing equipment. It will feature hunting and fishing demonstrations, prize giveaways, and the latest models of trucks and cars on display. If you are looking for a perfect gift for the man in your life, this is absolutely the place to be. Don't miss the first annual "Big Dog Competition". Regional dogs will compete in "Dock Dog" and "Speed Dog" trials. Each contest will have two waves for each weight category. Trophies and prizes will be awarded for each contest, as well as overall winners. For more information about this event or for information about being a vendor, call Michele Pearson at 601-482-6699. Downtown Merchants’ Holiday Open House (10 a.m.-2 p.m.)
This year’s Downtown Open House will feature several downtown retail stores -- decked out for the holidays and offering special incentives on unique gift ideas. “There will be prizes, refreshments and entertainment during the evening,” said John Few, who is coordinating the open house event. “It will be a great opportunity to experience downtown shopping at its best.” In addition, several stores will participate in a holiday window display contest, and a student art exhibit will be held in many of the windows of downtown’s other buildings. For more information, call John Few at 601-357-0653. For information about the window display exhibits call Michele Pearson at 601-482-6699. An unveiling of the exhibit will be held Tuesday, December 2 at 7 p.m. Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian Nutcracker (3 p.m. and 8 p.m.) Temple Theater Moscow Ballet’s “Great Russian Nutcracker” will be returning to Meridian’s Temple Theater on Saturday, December 6, with two performances. The first one will be held at 3 p.m. and a second performance will be held at 8 p.m. In addition to its award winning corps of dancers, the Nutcracker will also feature Meridian youth dancing alongside the Moscow cast. As part of its outreach program “Celebrate Children: The Arts Can make a Difference,” the Ballet auditions local children from each city in which they perform. Featured will be sixty children from Meridian and the surrounding communities. For information, call the Temple Theater box office at 601-693-5353. Meridian Christmas Parade
(5:00 p.m.) The annual Christmas Parade will conclude Merry Meridian activities. This year’s parade theme is “An Old Fashioned Christmas.” The parade is Mississippi’s Largest Nighttime Christmas Parade with over 150 entries, many lighted. It gets underway at 5:00 p.m. and makes it way through downtown Meridian. Well-known TV personality Walt Grayson will be the 2008 Grand Marshal for the parade. Call Jeremy Campbell at (601) 482-8001 for more information about the 2008 Christmas Parade. Sunday, Dec. 7
(4 and 8 p.m.) Mel Tillis and Pam Tillis - A Tillis Family Christmas MSU Riley Center Tillis Family Christmas is a lifetime of Christmas memories set to music. The Tillises have been celebrating Christmas on stage as individuals and as a family for over 20 years. Former entertainer of the year, award winning comedian, Hall of Fame songwriter and sometimes movie star Mel Tillis and two-time Grammy Award-winning daughter Pam Tillis welcome you to a night of fun and poignancy, from the silly to the sacred. Mel will be releasing his first ever Christmas album, called Snowflake, and Pam will be showcasing songs from her 2007 Christmas release Just in Time for Christmas along with many of their chart-topping country hits. Joining them on stage will be Pam’s brother Mel Tillis, Jr. and baby sister Carrie April Tillis. Mel Tillis, Jr. has written songs for Ricky Skaggs, Reba McEntire and many others, including a number one hit by Jamie O’Neal. For more information, call 601-696-2200 or go to www.msurileycenter.com. Dec. 11-13 (various times) Singing Christmas Tree at Highland Baptist Church Each year thousands of area residents pour into Highland Baptist Church to attend the Singing Christmas Tree. This year's program will be held December 11-13 and will mark the 24th year Highland Baptist has held the event. The Singing Christmas Tree consists of over 75 voices joined together in song accompanied by a full orchestra and actors. The choir will be standing inside a 35 foot steel lighted Christmas Tree that stretches across almost the entire width of the sanctuary. Just assembling the massive structure is a chore. The tree is assembled each year by teams of church members. It is decorated with over 2,000 twinkling electronically controlled lights, red velvet bows, garland, golden jeweled finials and gold, red and purple glass balls. Four thousand feet of wiring and 13,000 watts of electricity is required for the lighting of the 21,000 pound structure. Tickets are free. For information, call 601-482-0191 or visit www.highlandbaptist.net.
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