By By MIKE VOSS
Contributing Editor
Not quite in the Christmas spirit? Don’t worry. There are plenty of free events this week to cloak one in the Christmas spirit.
And although those events are free, they do help stimulate the local economy, said one local tourism official.
David Gossett, a member of the Washington Tourism Development Authority, said Christmas-related events do help the local economy by bringing potential customers to the area’s retail centers such as Washington.
“Individually, they may not have that great an impact on the economy. When you have a group of them, it becomes a different situation,” Gossett said. “I see no way they cannot have a positive economic impact on the city. Anything that draws people, whether from outside the county or inside the county, to the city is a true asset to us.”
Later this week, that economic stimulation is set to begin as several activities take place.
At 6 p.m. Thursday, the annual Lights of Love tree-lighting ceremony begins. After a two-year absence because of expansion activities, the event returns to the front lawn of Beaufort County Medical Center.
In case of inclement weather, the event will be held inside the hospital.
The Beaufort County Choral Society’s free holiday concert begins at 7 p.m. Friday at the Washington High School Performing Arts Center. Once again, director Laura Scoble will lead the concert, a HeART of the City Concert, that includes the River City Ringers.
On Friday and Saturday, the Beaufort County Arts Council’s annual Holidays Arts &Crafts Show returns to the Washington Civic Center. The show begins at noon Friday, running until 8 p.m. It resumes at 9 a.m. Saturday and concludes at 5 p.m. There is no admission charge for the show.
The Washington Christmas parade returns to downtown Washington at 10 a.m. Saturday.
Bobby Roberson, chief organizer of the Washington Christmas parade, said be believes parade-watchers will enjoy this year’s presentation.
“As of today, we have 45 entries. Usually, it picks up the last two or three days,” Roberson said Monday.
“We have a lot of church involvement this year, which we’re really excited about,” he added.
The honor guard from the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office will lead the parade, with the Washington High School Band and Santa Claus bringing up the rear of the holiday procession, Roberson said.
For the seventh year in a row, the Washington Christmas Flotilla comes to the city’s waterfront. A sing-along, led by a quartet and featuring Christmas carols and holiday songs, begins at 5:30 p.m. Saturday. The parade of boats begins at 6 p.m.
Bath’s annual Christmas parade kicks off at 2 p.m. Sunday.
The Beaufort County Community Orchestra’s Christmas and Classical concert begins at 4 p.m. Sunday at Washington’s First Presbyterian Church. The concert is free.