Jasper County Courthouse Lighting set for 81st year

For the 81st year, the Jasper County Courthouse will light up the night to celebrate the beginning on the holiday season. This year’s Lighted Holiday Festival is set for Friday and will include a chili cook-off, disc jockey, Christmas carols, Santa Claus and much more leading up to the courthouse lighting at 6 p.m.

“We’re trying to light up the whole downtown area this year,” Craig Light, executive director of the Greater Newton Area Chamber of Commerce said.

Festivities will kick off at 5 p.m. with the Chili Cook-Off, this year sponsored by the Newton chamber. U.S. Bank will be on the southwest corner on the square handing out popcorn and local churches will hand out hot chocolate and apple cider to help keep warm.

Light said a DJ will be set up in the former Pappy’s building, playing holiday music during the event. Also, Hometown Rewards plans to decorate the Chamber office and have an energy efficiency display featuring old style versus new LED Christmas lights and the energy consumption of both.

The Newton Fire Department will be escorting Santa Claus to the courthouse on a fire truck where he will be in the rotunda greeting kids and taking Christmas wishes. Also in the courthouse is the 4-H Festival of Trees display, with unique trees decorated by local 4-H groups.

“We will also have a multi-congregational church group singing Christmas carols on the northwest corner of the square,” Light said.

As a part of the new lighted festival, Light hopes to have all downtown businesses go dark in the moments before the courthouse lights up, then have a grand display by the entire downtown following the lighting at 6 p.m.

A change from the past 11 years, there will no longer be a lighted Christmas parade as a part of the festivities. Light said with the busy holiday season, it was hard to gather enough floats. Along with the costs associated with building the floats and the time it takes to assemble them, it no longer seemed feasible to continue the parade.

“Then you might not even be able to use the float depending on the weather after putting time and money into it,” Light said.

This year the downtown is focused on lighting up the entire square, but Light said all Newton businesses are invited to participate in lighting up Newton. Any business in the Newton area that would like to participate in the decorated store front competition is more than welcome to join with Chamber ambassadors serving as judges during the holiday season.

“We’re not just concentrated to downtown businesses but all businesses throughout Newton,” Light said.

Contact Jamee A. Pierson at 641-792-3121 ext. 6534 or jpierson@newtondailynews.com