Santa, Parade of Lights, and Button Drawings

Once the leftover turkey, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie have been successfully wrapped and placed in the fridge, the Christmas celebration in Phillips County begins and this upcoming week will feature the annual Parade of Lights, Black Friday, Sunday store openings, a visit from dear old Saint Nick himself and more.

Black Friday gets underway in Phillips County the day after Thanksgiving (see this week's PCN Christmas Shopping Guide) and the Malta Area Chamber of Commerce "YOU are the Jolly to Malta's Holly" Button drawing will be held on Saturday, November 30. The Jolly to Holly promotion is currently underway and guests pre-purchase $15 gift bags (there are only 75 total bags for sale, on sale now at all local banks and Family Matters - which include prizes from local businesses, coupons, as well as the Chamber Buttons) which will award one lucky button holder, drawn from those 75 buttons only, $250 in Dino Dollars. The regular Chamber Button drawings start on the same evening of the Parade of Lights, December 2 (see more below.)

Sunday, December 1, kicks off the "Sunday Openings," which is the first of four Sundays where participating merchants will be open from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m.

The highlight for many people after the Thanksgiving holiday (pun intended) will be the Parade of Lights which is on Monday, December 2. People with floats for the Parade of Lights are asked to be at the Hi-Line Retirement Center (HLRC) for the lineup at 5:30 p.m., and prizes of $50, $25, and $20 in Dino Dollars will be awarded to the first, second, and third place floats. The parade itself will start at approximately 6 p.m., making its way from the HLRC, north on South Avenue East and right onto South 2nd Avenue before proceeding down South 1st East (Front Street) in front of many local businesses. The parade makes a final left down Central Avenue for spectators to see. For more information on the Parade of Lights, call Kathy Olson, Independence Bank, at 654- 2700.

The Malta Chamber of Commerce Button Drawings also starts the night of the Parade of Lights. Winning numbers will be announced on KMMR and on social media at 5 p.m. and the winning button holder has one hour to claim their prize. If that hour runs out, and no winner comes forward, another winning number will be drawn, and the process continues. If no winner is announced after three drawings, the Dino Dollars will be put into the next late-night opening drawings.

Santa Claus makes his first visit to Phillips County following the Parade of Lights at the Bank of Malta where free pictures with the "Old Jolly One" will be offered from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. This will be the 37th consecutive year the bank has brought Santa to town for photos and last year he visited with over 200 children.

Stores in Malta will also offer extended evening hours throughout December to help gift-givers get their shopping lists finalized. The Chamber of Commerce will also be hosting a Food Bank Night on Monday, December 9th, Men's Button Night on December 16, a Movie at the Villa sponsored by First State Bank on Saturday, December 21 and a Friends and Family Scavenger Hunt on the night of Monday, December 23. Stay tuned to the PCN for more information on those events.