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Lafayette, LA – Do you hear what we hear? Downtown Lafayette is becoming a Winter Wonderland once again this December.
Downtown Lafayette Unlimited is producing “Merry & Bright,” a series of family-friendly holiday events in Downtown Lafayette sponsored by Lafayette Coca-Cola Bottling Company. The seasonal celebration includes a Christmas tree decorating contest, a concert featuring Curley Taylor and Zydeco Trouble, a competition for best holiday window display, a Candlelight Christmas featuring traditional carols, and a Movies In The Parc season finale —all taking place throughout December and following guidelines for safe outdoors events.
All COVID-19 mandates — including social distancing, requiring masks, and limiting event attendance capacity to 250 or less people — will be in place. If updated protocols prevent public gatherings, A Very Curley Christmas and Candlelight Christmas will be live-streamed on the Downtown Lafayette Facebook page; and Movies In The Parc will be rescheduled. Currently, Downtown Lafayette plans to move forward with all events as scheduled.
To make Downtown Lafayette a destination for Christmas, DLU will transform the city center into a beacon of holiday cheer. Parc International will transform into the “North Pole” of Downtown, with decorations, lights, a 24-foot-tall Christmas tree, and larger-than-life ornaments big enough to walk through. A grove of Christmas trees decorated by local families, businesses, and organizations will also fill the parc.
Other exciting holiday decorations and installations will be spread throughout Downtown and found in Parc Sans Souci and Parc de Lafayette. Downtown Lafayette also expects Santa to make walk-through appearances at some Merry & Bright events; interested visitors can stay tuned to the Downtown Lafayette Facebook page for announcements regarding Santa’s availability.
“Thanks to our presenting sponsor, Lafayette Coca-Cola Bottling Company, we have the incredible opportunity to provide holiday magic during a time where we need it the most,” said Anita Begnaud, CEO of Downtown Development Authority and Downtown Lafayette Unlimited. “We invite the public to grab a festive mask, safely come together, and join us in creating memories with your loved ones to celebrate the wonderful things that make up the holiday season special in the heart of Lafayette — Downtown itself.”
Merry & Bright Downtown Christmas will officially kick-off on Friday, December 4th, with A Very Curly Christmas featuring Curley Taylor and Zydeco Trouble. Lafayette Mayor-President Josh Guillory will also lead the lighting of the Downtown Lafayette Christmas tree before the event.
No real snow or typical winter scenery? No problem. Starting in November, many Downtown shops and businesses are converting their storefronts into a “Window Wonderland,” featuring incredibly creative installations curated by local artists. You can vote for your favorite holiday display beginning Friday, December 4th.
The Christmas Tree Extravaganza decorating begins on Friday, November 27th. This Christmas tree decorating competition is open to businesses, organizations, families, and creative individuals to display throughout the holiday season. Visitors to the Parc can vote on their favorite tree online beginning December 4th, with winners of the competition announced on December 19th.
Interested in decorating a tree of your own? Email cali@downtownlafayette.org for details.
December ArtWalk will take place on Saturday, December 12th, at a special-edition Night Art Market outside of Parc International. Vendors will line up on Polk Street between Garfield and Vermilion streets from 4 – 8 pm. Find holiday gifts, stocking stuffers, and other hand-crafted items created by local artists while enjoying the district’s restaurants and other businesses.
Candlelight Christmas, an event co-hosted by First United Methodist Church and Downtown Lafayette, will occur on Thursday, December 18th, from 6 – 7 pm. In addition to reading the Christmas story, this traditional event also features a live band to lead attendees in singing carols. Candles will be passed out at the end of the ceremony as “Joy to the World” rounds out the concert.
The Grand Finale will take place at Movies In The Parc. A screening of the Acadiana Symphony Orchestra’s Christmas concert will play as guests enter Parc International, followed by a showing of the holiday classic, “Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer.” Winners of Window Wonderland and Christmas Tree Extravaganza will be announced before the movie.
Downtown Lafayette would like to extend a holly, jolly thank you to all of the sponsors who made Merry & Bright Christmas a possibility this year: presenting sponsor Lafayette Coca-Cola Bottling Company, Evangeline Bank & Trust, Lafayette Convention & Visitors Commission, Professional Outsource Services, Evangeline Maid, The Acadiana Advocate, Guilliot Dentistry, Jones Walker, The Grouse Room, Kiwanis of Acadiana, Kiwanis of Lafayette, and Asociación Cultural Latino-Acadiana.
Tickets to A Very Curley Christmas, Candlelight Christmas, and Movies In The Parc are available at downtownlafayette.org/events-landing/christmas-downtown.
The list below represents each event that Downtown Lafayette Unlimited will host or partner to produce.
Merry & Bright Downtown Christmas Events
Downtown Window Wonderland
November 13 – December 19 | Jefferson Street + Various Locations Downtown
Christmas Tree Extravaganza
November 30 – December 19 | Parc International
A Very Curley Christmas + Lighting Of The Tree
Friday, December 4 | Parc International | 5:00 – 8:00 PM
ArtWalk Christmas Market
Saturday, December 14 | Parc International | 4:00 – 8:00 PM
Downtown Candlelight Christmas
Thursday, December 19 | Parc International | 6:00 — 7:00 PM
Christmas Tree Extravaganza + Window Wonderland Finale (Winner Announced)
Movies in the Parc Christmas Edition
Saturday, December 19 | Parc International | 4:30 – 7:00 PM
Little did Acadiana know that on Friday, April 8th, 1983, history would be made in Downtown Lafayette. It all started when a group of people got together to try and figure out how to bring life into Downtown Lafayette. Downtown Development Director Cathy Webre and her team had a hunch – “Give them music, and they will come.” Downtown Alive! was then born on a tiny stage in the middle of Jefferson Street with a performance from Beausoleil.
Festival International de Louisiane is set to take over Downtown Lafayette this weekend, converting the city center into a world music mecca like no other. The streets will be packed with throngs of sandal clad weekend warriors—over 300,000 people attend the festival each year, coming from all over the country and around the globe. Everyone knows the bands they want to see and where the stage is, but there’s more to Festival than just the music. This guide to Festival International’s unofficial and off-the-beaten-path events will help you to get the most out of a full week of Downtown festivities.
Don’t miss out on the third annual Merry & Bright Holiday Series, presented by Lafayette Coca-Cola Bottling Co., happening Downtown this holiday season.The holiday season is a time to come together and celebrate the connection you have to your family, friends, and community. Part of Downtown Lafayette Unlimited’s mission is to foster a downtown district where this can happen, to serve as a gathering place for memories and traditions that stand the test of time.
After the success of both Chicken Sandwich Snackdown and Burger Battle Royale, we HAD to continue the fun competition amongst our Downtown neighbors. 16 Downtown restaurants will compete for the ultimate title: TACO TAKEDOWN CHAMPION.This exciting month-long food fight is a fundraiser for Downtown Lafayette Unlimited, with $1 per every taco sold going to our non-profit organization. Check out our Facebook and Instagram feeds to see who’s ready to knock-out the competition. Public voting begins August 15.
Lafayette, LA – Downtown Alive! announces their Fall lineup as they return to in-person programming this Fall in Parc International. This beloved community tradition pivoted to virtual programming throughout 2020 and Spring 2021 due to COVID-19 and managed to reach over 45,000 viewers in the Spring season alone thanks to supporters near and far.
Maker Faire Lafayette has opened online registration and announced the schedule of events for the week of April 5-10, 2021. This year’s event is presented by Lafayette Public Library, Downtown Lafayette Unlimited, and AOC Community Media.
It was like walking onto a Hallmark movie set for local artist Kelly Russo. Last year, downtown Lafayette took decorating for Christmas seriously, and along with it, came the Window Wonderland competition. Russo was one of 30 artists who decorated storefronts in hopes of winning and bringing Christmas cheer.
2019 was a transformative year for Downtown Lafayette, one that will mark the beginning of a new decade of momentum for the heart of Acadiana. Our organization has undergone exciting changes, beginning with the appointment of Anita Begnaud as the CEO of the Downtown Development Authority (DDA) and Downtown Lafayette Unlimited (DLU) in October of 2018. Anita hit the ground running by reinvigorating DLU’s membership and programming efforts, hiring Maureen Dugas Foster as the first ever Director of DLU, and acting as the spokesperson for a list of catalytic projects in Downtown—from the renovation of the Old Federal Courthouse and the construction of Vermilion Lofts and Buchanan Heights, to efforts addressing Downtown’s pressing infrastructure issues.
Downtown Lafayette will become the perfect destination for lovers of Christmas this December. In an effort to spread seasonal joy throughout the Acadiana region, DLU has committed to creating a month-long series of family-friendly holiday events in Downtown Lafayette. The seasonal celebration, called “A Merry & Bright Downtown Christmas” will feature a Christmas tree decorating contest, multiple concerts, a competition for best holiday window display, pictures with Santa, horse-drawn carriage rides, and a “North Pole” installation in Parc International—all taking place throughout the month of December.