Holiday Travel
Natchitoches, La., just four hours east of Arlington, offers a unique, fun and historic opportunity to see the holidays in a whole new light. Photos courtesy of natchitoches.net
Sis Boom
‘Ahhhh!’
For a quick holiday getaway, few spots offer festive fun like Natchitoches, La.
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ere are the numbers: More than 300,000 Christmas lights and 100-plus riverbank settings, open every night at dusk. By day, you can enjoy downtown attractions that include carriages tours through the historic district and parades featuring music and clowns. By night you can stroll to stores and restaurants that are open pretty much as long as you want to shop or eat. Plus, should you be so inclined, you can pet an alligator. “Where can you do all this?” you ask. This mini vacation is yours by taking a four-hour drive to Natchitoches, La. The aforementioned events – or some equally fun – take place every weekend in the Landmark Historic District along the Cane River and along Cane River Lake, south of town. From now until Jan. 6, 2015, Natchitoches will welcome thousands of visitors to thousands of memories. Here are upcoming highlights: Nov. 29 – A day of activities on Front Street and the Downtown Riverbank, where you’ll find the Fleur de Lis Arts & Crafts Show at the Natchitoches Events Center, the Holiday Kids Fest on the Downtown Riverbank, musical entertainment on the Downtown Riverbank Stage and a fireworks show over Cane River Lake. And get this: All of those events but the Kids Fest are free to the public.
Dec. 6 – The 88th Annual Natchitoches Christmas Festival. This event has been ranked by yahoo.com as the “Third-Best Holiday Light Show in the Nation” behind the Rockefeller Center and Disney World. There you can celebrate the Christmas Season in Louisiana’s oldest city by enjoying live musical entertainment, arts, crafts and food, a parade and a magnificent fireworks show choreographed to holiday music over the Cane River Lake. Other activities that day include the Natchitoches “City of Lights” 5K run, the Festival of Lights Parade, more music on the Downtown Riverbank and more fireworks over Cane River Lake. Dec. 13 – More Downtown Riverbank festivities, including the Les Amies Christmas Treasures Arts & Crafts Sale, Fete de Hiver at Fort St. Jean Baptiste High School (where visitors can celebrate Christmas 18th century style with historians, re-enactors and period merchants), another Holiday Kids Fest, a Holiday Tour of Homes, the play “Changed by a Baby Boy: A Christmas Musical,” more musical entertainment and – yes! – even more fireworks. There are weekday activities along the river throughout the holiday season, as well. For more on this holiday getaway: natchitoches.net.
Here are some of the attractions in Natchitoches.