For most families, going to see the Christmas lights is an annual event. To hear the oohs and aahhs of those young or young at heart are why so many people load up year after year in search of lights. This year, The Winona Times and The Conservative have complied a list of the area’s great Christmas light destinations – all just a short drive away.
• Montgomery County: You can’t mention Christmas lights without mentioning Kilmichael! For the past 38 years, the town’s annual Christmas on the Square has grown over the years and has become an annual pilgrimage to see the various displays and lights. The light show began running Dec. 1 and will run until Jan. 1.
The entrance of the display is across from Kilmichael’s City Hall. Guests begin with the Gospel of Luke as organizers tell the story of Jesus’s birth. There are also secular themes within the vast exhibit. There’s a Minion Christmas, a Disney Christmas and a light show set to music.
With the exception of the light show set to music, people can walk through the displays and see them first hand, just don’t touch and don’t forget to see the Santa’s workshop at the town’s depot.
• Winona: For the past several years, the Cain Christmas Light Show on Greensboro Street draws families year after year with the the ever changing and expanding Christmas light show set to music.
• Vaiden: Kudos have to be given to the Vaiden Beautification Committee. In a few short months, the committee has attracted attention for their various decorations, and for Christmas they did not disappoint.
When entering Vaiden, motorist are met with a full nativity scene. There is also lit Christmas trees, paintings by Misty Armstrong and a Santa cutout beside the Town of Vaiden fire truck. And don’t miss the decorations at the Vaiden Children’s Park across from Vaiden Town Hall.
• Carroll County: Tim Casidy has been doing the Casidy Christmas Light Show at his home on County Road 81 in the Jefferson Community of Carroll County for five years and the show gets bigger and bigger every year. Casidy’s show is set to music played on 88.1 and he said in a 2017 interview that his children pick out the songs that the lights are set to and that there are over 40,000 lights.
• Attala County: In Hesterville, on Highway 35 there’s a home that will also take your breath away. The home sits behind a lake and is lit from the boardwalk to the home. To get to the home to see it up close and personal, there’s a road that leads to the entrance of the neighborhood.
• Attala County: Another home, located at 1104 Pecan Boulevard in Kosciusko, will give you all the Christmas feels and choruses of “oohs” and “aahhs.” The owner of the home is Bro. Scott Wright, pastor at First Methodist Church in Kosciusko.
• Choctaw County: The French Camp Rainwater Observatory in the village of French Camp on Highway 413 South, will hold their Christmas Star program Friday, December 14. The program is the old debate between whether the Christmas Star or the Star of Bethlehem was actually a star or comet.
• Winston County: Flower Ridge United Methodist Church on Highway 15 in the community of Flower Ridge between Winston and Neshoba Counties, less than five miles outside of the City of Louisville, holds an annual drive-through nativity scene that takes spectators through Luke 1. The production has taken place since the 1980s and draw many in year after year.
The nativity scene holds key points of Jesus’ birth and is entertaining from beginning to end. The show is from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Dec. 22 and 23.
• Webster County: In Eupora, residents who live along Clarke, Joliffe and Gold Streets hold an annual luminaria display on Christmas Eve. This year, five hundred luminaries will illuminate these streets from 5:00 p.m. until midnight.
And if you’re really adventurous, here are a few more light shows that are sure to wow your little ones, but be prepared for a long line and a longer wait. But, it’s worth it and it’s worth the drive.
• Canton: Straight down Highway 51 or from Highway 17 to Highway 51, the Canton Square light show is one to see. From Highway 51 to Highway 43, lights line the entrance to Canton until spectators are able to reach the square. With over 200,000 lights, the light show draws many for miles and it’s a hit every year.
• Columbus: The Garrett Family Christmas Spectacular, located at 1780 Oswalt Road, puts on a Christmas display that is raved about but be prepared for the lines. The show runs at 5:30 each night and will run until New Year’s Eve.
• Derma: The Martin Family, residents of the town of Derma in Calhoun County hold a Christmas Light display every year. Spectators are asked to set their radio dials to 101.5 to watch the lights dance to the music. The Martin family is asking those who attend their light show to donate a canned good or money to be donated to the Calhoun County Food Pantries.
