Copperas Cove area offers Christmas activities to enjoy
By BRITTANY FHOLER
Cove Leader-Press
Copperas Cove area residents have several options to choose from to celebrate this season.
Santa has returned this year to Logsdon Street! The Logsdon Street Santa will make two more appearances on December 17 and on Christmas Eve at 3222 Logsdon Street in Copperas Cove. The house and yard are lit up with hundreds of lights and decorations, while Santa sits inside, waiting for children and families to come take free pictures. Santa will be available for pictures from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, December 17, and Saturday, December 24.
Over in Harker Heights, the Carlson Family also puts on a stunning display of lights and decorations, paired with music. The annual Christmas Light Show by the Carlson Family runs each night through December 25 every year. It is free and open to the public. Guests are encouraged to visit http://www.CarlsonLights.com for song line up and answers to any questions. Located at 428 Winter Sun Drive in Harker Heights, families can head over and park on the side streets to take in the view, while tuning into radio station 88.1 F.M. to hear the music that goes with the lights. The Carlson Light Show has extended hours on December 24 and 25, from 6 p.m. until midnight. For up to date information, follow their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/carlsonlightdisplay.
The city of Kempner will be celebrating the season with its second annual Christmas in the Park at the Sylvia Tucker Memorial Park on Friday, December 16, starting at 4 p.m. There will be an ornament decorating contest, with a turn-in time of 5:15 p.m. The contest theme is “Branches of the Military.”
The event will also feature a Tree Lighting at 6:30 p.m. and a showing of the 2000 film “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” (starring Jim Carrey) in the park at 7 p.m.
Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus will also be present at the event, with a photo booth area available at no cost for pictures. Vendors will also be set up at the event. Event sponsors include Trash Panda Waste Management and the Log Cabin Café. Sylvia Tucker Memorial Park is located at 12641 E U.S. 190, in Kempner.
The Stronghold of Hellsgate and Barony of Bryn Gwlad are hosting their annual Yule Revel on on Saturday, December 17 at the Knights of Columbus Hall at 6830 F.M. 2657 in Copperas Cove.
The celebration will include three competitions during the day: a bardic competition, a subtlety contest and a table decorating contest. The bardic competition features three entries: one tale or song of Yule/Christmas that is child-friendly, one tale or song of Yule/Christmas and one tale or song that is a ghost story of the season.
The event opens at 10 a.m. and ends at 9 p.m.
The event will feature a Father Yule/Christmas to present stockings to the children, and there will also be a “mouse hunt” for the kids.
Parents who wish for their child to receive a stocking from Father Yule must bring the stuffed stocking with them to give to Father Yule to present to the children.
Adults can also participate in the hanging and giving of stockings by bringing a stocking to hang, where small items and presents can be placed in the stockings throughout the day.
The Feast of the event will be a pot luck, and guests are encouraged to bring sides, desserts and breads.
Land Taxes will be nonperishable food items. Guests can only bring in wine, mead or beer. No hard liquor is allowed. No sales of alcohol are allowed, and there will not be any kind of bar. No drinking will be allowed outside of the Hall. Period/era containers are preferred. For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/events/844383706592356.
Grace United Methodist Church is holding their annual Live Nativity on Sunday, December 18, from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., featuring the church’s Youth Group as the figures of the Nativity, from Mary and Joseph to the shepherd and the Three Wise Men. Grace United Methodist Church is located at 101 Avenue F in Copperas Cove.
Lastly, a Central Texas tradition for some, the Nature in Lights at BLORA offers 5.5 miles of different holiday lights. Open nightly, from 5:30 p.m. to 11 p.m., through January 1st, 2023, Nature in Lights at BLORA features Christmas lights, plus Santa’s Village, with different vendor booths, crafts and photo opportunities with Santa at the Live Oak Pavilion.
The cost for entry is $20 per vehicle for cars, mini-vans, and trucks; $35 per vehicle for limos, 15-passenger vans and RVs; $55 for a 24-passenger van; and $80 for a 47+ passenger van or larger bus.
Tune into radio station 91.9 F.M. for Christmas music to enhance the drive through the different lights.