Santa and Mrs. Claus stopped by the conference center for photo opportunities.

Valley Park officially celebrated the start of the Christmas season with a tree lighting and other festive events on Friday, December 5.

Light Up Valley Park featured horse drawn wagon rides, a pet parade, an ugly sweater contest, and a performance by the Hurricane Civic Chorus. Visitors to the park could walk the winding paths of the courtyard and view over sixty Christmas trees which were sponsored and decorated by local businesses. After the large tree in the center of the courtyard was lit, many people stopped to take photos of family in front of it. In the spirit of the season, Megan Tarbett, director of the Putnam County Library, read Christmas stories and poems in front of the big tree.

Word of Light Community Church performed an outdoor nativity scene at regular intervals on both Friday and Saturday nights. In addition to hosting the live nativity, the church also sponsored a petting zoo with animals from Campbell Family Farm and Animal Encounters. Visitors could pet goats, a llama, and a camel after watching the performance.