Home for the Holidays
What began in 2019 as an effort to spark holiday joy continues today as a significant part of Downtown Lafayette’s holiday series. Every year, Jefferson Street and Parc International are transformed into magical holiday destinations for visitors and residents of Lafayette to enjoy throughout the entire month of December.
Window Wonderland
For the third year in a row, Basin Arts, in partnership with Downtown Lafayette Unlimited, has orchestrated Window Wonderland, a storefront art installation by local artists across the district. “Through Window Wonderland, we are providing paid professional opportunities for artists, building a more dynamic Downtown community for businesses and artists, and providing accessible, high quality artistic experiences and engagement for all ages,” says Clare Cook, Director of Basin Arts. With the simple goal of bringing together community organizations, business owners, and local artists to celebrate civic pride during the holiday season, artists showcase their talents in a creative, family-friendly, and festive way. Each year the artists are given a theme to interpret through their displays, and this year’s theme is Holidays in Harmony.
Painting typically starts the week of Small Business Saturday to highlight the many small businesses downtown and to encourage shopping locally. Window Wonderland is a friendly competition that helps to create a more vibrant environment and drives foot traffic to small businesses. Each installation is a part of an overall competition for Best Window. Voting takes place online and closes Friday, Dec. 16. Vote for your favorite display here: https://basinartslafayette.com/window-wonderland/. This year Basin Arts presents Window Wanderings, an evening of local art and live dance inspired by the sounds of the season this Friday, Dec. 16. Starting at Rêve Coffee Shop and ending at Wild Child Wines, you will get to meander down Jefferson Street enjoying several pop-up dance activations with small bites and sips along the way. Tickets can be purchased here.
Christmas Tree Extravaganza
The Christmas Tree Extravaganza is another holiday tradition that promotes park activation and prompts people of all ages to enjoy the walkability of the downtown district. At the beginning of December, a grove of live Christmas trees are delivered straight from the North Pole to Parc International. A business, family, non-profit organization, group of friends, or anyone from the public can participate by purchasing a tree and decorating it for thousands of downtown visitors to see. Decorators are encouraged to be creative, as the Christmas Tree Extravaganza, too, is a friendly holiday competition. This year’s trees can be viewed in Parc International every day from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Voting takes place online and closes Friday, Dec. 16. Vote for your favorite tree here: https://surveyhero.com/c/cefk4ady
It is our hope in years to come to offer Christmas Tree Extravaganza as a team-building and community-focused event around Thanksgiving. We want to encourage downtown business owners, executives, CEOs, and managers to bring together their teams to Parc International to decorate a tree. Not only will this help spark holiday cheer amongst the staff but will also serve as an opportunity to connect and celebrate the holiday season with some of your downtown neighbors.
These holiday competitions are just one of the many ways Downtown Lafayette supports its local artists, small businesses, and close-knit community. Make plans with your loved ones to visit downtown through the month of December to walk amidst a winter wonderland.
