Planning under way for holiday festival

The Lincolnton-Lincoln County Chamber of Commerce is planning several events for the ninth annual Holidays in Olde Lincoln Towne Festival.

Pioneer Day at the Lincoln County Historical Park will begin at 11 a.m. Saturday. There will be arts and crafts, an antique-tractor show, outdoor cooking over an open flame, and live demonstrations of soap making and pottery.

Tours will be given of the Groves-May House and Dr. May's Museum, a restored 1850s cotton gin, a late 1700s log cabin, a log smokehouse, a blacksmith's shop and an old sawmill.

The event will be followed Sunday with a community Thanksgiving service. Lincolnton United Methodist Church will hold the event at 7 p.m. The Lincoln County Ministerial Association is coordinating it.

A Holidays Festival and Shopping Day in the City event will take place from noon until 6 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 2.

Those in downtown Lincolnton will have the opportunity to take in dance and musical performances beginning at 1 p.m. Door prizes, gift giveaways, sidewalk craft and food vendors and children's games and rides also will be available.

There will be a holiday parade starting at 3 p.m. on the same day.

"It is the highlight of the day," said Ginger Parham, a chamber of commerce administrator.

The parade will feature unique floats, the Lincoln County High School Red Devil band, vintage cars, antique tractors, twirlers, dance groups, decorated golf carts, car and motorcycle clubs, pageant winners and fire trucks.

Parham said there are typically 50 to 100 float entries in the parade, and that the chamber is the only group allowed to do a Santa Claus float. The parade should last about 30 minutes.

The festive hometown holiday celebration will conclude with Breakfast With Our Legislators on Thursday, Dec. 7. Elected officials will give constituents an update on recent happenings from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. at the Lincoln Center.

State Rep. Barry Fleming, retired Sgt. Maj. Jim Hussey of U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss' office, and Nancy Bobbitt, of U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson's office, have confirmed that they will be in attendance. Tickets are $10 each.

For more information regarding the festival, contact the chamber at (706) 359-7970.