This Saturday, Nov. 18, the holidays kick-off in the Wonder City of West Central Missouri. This year, Christmas festivities are rolled into one HUGE afternoon of celebration on Saturday, Nov. 18.

The day kicks off with holiday shopping at the 4th annual Holiday Expo in the Park Community Building from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (closed during the parade). The expo will feature local home-based and small businesses. Paula Newman and friends will perform starting around noon at the Main and Spring Street entertainment stage.

The Thankful for the Holidays themed Christmas Parade will commence on South Main Street at 3 p.m. and proceed  through downtown El Dorado Springs.

Special thanks to the El Dorado Springs Lions Club, Optimist Club, Eagles Auxiliary, the VFW and the Fraternal Order of Eagles for partnering with the Chamber of Commerce to offer parade participant prize funding.

For children’s safety the parade committee asks participants to have walkers distribute candy. The parade committee urges participants to distribute candy the three blocks from Hightower Street (near the Post Office) north to Broadway.

Chamber CEO Jackson Tough said “In the past few years, people have parked vehicles along the busy Main Street thoroughfare several blocks south of the downtown area. Parade participants can’t see children darting from in between the parked vehicles until the last minute which could create a very dangerous situation. This is an attempt to get spectators downtown instead of parking along Main Street. Most participants will have a walker on each side of their entry, some will have just one walking behind the entry. We want folks to enjoy the parade and to keep our community’s children safe.”

The Lighting Celebration in the Park will start with activities to keep everyone entertained immediately after the parade’s conclusion. Parade entries can use parking lots to the east and west of Main Street after the parade and make their way to Park for the awards for civic, youth, business, church and other entries. Public school bands and choirs will perform, there will be a reading of Jesus birth by the Christian School and GFWC’s Miss Merry Christmas and Little Mr. and Miss Santa candidates will be introduced and crowed at 1 p.m in the Civic Center. The Wonder City Polar Express will offer “train” rides around the Park to see the lights thanks to Agape Baptist Church trolley and Fugate Motors for the “locomotive.”

Woods Supermarket will sponsor free hotdogs, chips and drinks served by SCRG, Lieutenant Governor Mike Parson, Senator Sandy Crawford, Representative Warren Love and Sheriff James McCrary. The Nine Wonders Optimist Club will have a Christmas cookie decorating station among other vendors. Santa Claus will make the trip to El Dorado Springs for the parade and then visit with children during the Lighting Celebration festivities.

The afternoon will culminate with the Lighting Celebration Countdown which will illuminate Park, Main Street and U.S. Highway 54 around dusk.

To cap the evening the Opera House Arts Council will have a special showing of the “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” movie in the Park on the north side of the old Community Building.

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