City of Oak Ridge offices will be closed for Christmas and New Year’s Day.
City administrative offices and Oak Ridge City Court will be closed from Friday, December 23, to Monday, December 26, for Christmas.
They will also be closed on Monday, January 2, for New Year’s Day.
Offices and the court will re-open on Tuesday, January 3, a press release said.
[Read more…]A Clinton Christmas Stroll this month will feature photos with Santa and Mrs. Claus, horse-drawn carriage rides, food trucks, a nativity scene, and a silent auction to benefit the Education Foundation.
“Additionally, the brick-and-mortar shops will be staying open late for shopping on this Small Business Saturday,” a press release said.
The Christmas Stroll, a new event, is scheduled from 5 to 9 p.m. Saturday, November 27, in Historic Downtown Clinton.
The live nativity scene will be held in the Hoskins Park on Market Street. It will feature live animals, caroling, cookies and cider, and a kid’s craft. The horse-drawn carriage rides are $20 per family, and the carriage can hold up to six people at a time, the press release said. The ride will start on Freddy Fagan Way and go behind Shabby Remakes and then circle around down Market Street.
[Read more…]Submitted
December is filled with twinkling lights, decorated trees, and lots of eggnog and presents. But some folks experience the holiday season as difficult for many reasons.
Sometimes called a “blue Christmas†gathering, First Presbyterian Church of Oak Ridge will hold its annual “service of memory and hope†for the public on Tuesday, December 17, at 6:30 p.m. in the sanctuary. The all-woman, ecumenical River of Grace Threshold Choir will provide special music designed to offer comfort through music to those at the threshold of life.
FPCOR member and social worker Elaine Wilson will speak on “memory.†Barbara McCord, a leader of the Baha’i community in Oak Ridge, will talk about “hope.†[Read more…]
All City of Oak Ridge administrative offices will be closed on Monday, December 25, and Tuesday, December 26, to observe Christmas. Other closures and adjustments to city services and facilities because of the holidays are listed below:
The extended closure of the Oak Ridge Civic Center is due to gym floor refinishing, a press release said. While the rest of the building will reopen to the public on Wednesday, December 27, the gymnasium will not reopen until Thursday, December 28. [Read more…]
Christmas Concert 2015 at First Baptist Church in Oak Ridge (Submitted photo)
The Oak Ridge Community Band/Wind Ensemble will ring in the Christmas season with a Christmas Concert and Sing-along on Sunday afternoon, December 10.
It’s a free event, and it will begin at 3:30 p.m. Sunday in the sanctuary of the First Baptist Church, which is at 1101 Oak Ridge Turnpike. The performance is open to the public, dress is casual, and there will be refreshments at the conclusion of the program, a press release said.
“This concert is a wonderful opportunity to bring family and friends to relax and enjoy hearing familiar holiday tunes and sing favorite Christmas carols,” the press release said.
Among the numbers on Sunday’s program are two of Leroy Anderson’s most well-known holiday tunes: “A Christmas Festival,” featuring a medley of carols, and the time-honored piece “Sleigh Ride,” in which you can not only hear the bells on the horse pulling the sleigh, but the crack of the whip, the clip-clop of the horse’s hooves, and the horse’s distinctive neigh, the press release said. [Read more…]
Photo courtesy Jeff Robertson
Christmas is the great American holiday. It’s a time of presents and decorations, and mistletoe and holly, of yuletide cheer, of chestnuts roasting on an open fire, and families gathering for a feast. It can be a wonderful time, but it can also be a lot of stress.
For years, our family went all out for Christmas, driving long distances, dropping a small fortune on gifts, and cooking up sumptuous feasts. We spent many hours in the kitchen and many dollars in the shopping malls searching for the perfect present for each of member of our large family. This year, my wife and I decided to skip all that and go to the Bahamas instead.
After exploring some options online, we chose a four-night holiday cruise on the Carnival Ecstasy from Charleston to Nassau. [Read more…]
Waste Connections of Tennessee will close the Convenience Center at 400 Warehouse Road at noon on Saturday, December 24, in observance of Christmas. The Convenience Center will reopen on Monday, December 26.
In addition, the Convenience Center will be closed all day Sunday, January 1, 2017, in observance of the New Year’s holiday. [Read more…]
The Oak Ridge Christmas tree lighting was Friday, Dec. 2, 2016, in Alvin K. Bissell Park. (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)
The Oak Ridge Christmas tree lighting was Friday in Alvin K. Bissell Park. Here are photos by the City of Oak Ridge.
The annual Christmas tree lighting and reception are sponsored by the Oak Ridge Woman’s Club and the Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department. The reception includes seasonal music and entertainment in the Oak Ridge Civic Center gymnasium. [Read more…]
The Senior Center Holiday Reception is pictured above in 2014. (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)
The Oak Ridge Senior Center is having a Holiday Reception for area senior citizens on Friday, December 9. This year, the party will be held in the Oak Ridge Civic Center’s gymnasium located at 1403 Oak Ridge Turnpike.
“Come join us between 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. for a light lunch of sandwiches, chips, and cookies, as well as holiday music and fellowship,” a press release said. “The Senior Center guitar group will be playing live Christmas music. Bingo will be offered and door prizes given away. Goodie bags will also be given out while they last.” [Read more…]
Members of the community who love to sing are encouraged to come and be part of the chorus at the sixth annual “Messiah Sing-a-Long.†It will be held at 5:30 p.m. Sunday, December 4, at the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church located at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike in Oak Ridge.
It will also be held on Saturday, December 3, at 7 p.m. at the Norris United Methodist Church located in Norris at 62 Ridgeway Road. Music lovers are invited to either free performance, a press release said.
Both performances will be presented by the Tri-County Community Orchestra and Chorus under the direction of Sandy Wells. Members of the choir will sing the arias, and audience members will be invited to join the choir in singing the chorus parts from portions of Handel’s “Messiah,†the classic most associated with the Christmas season. Music will be provided for early-arriving audience members who wish to sing. [Read more…]
The Oak Ridge Woman’s Club and the Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department will sponsor the annual Christmas tree lighting and reception on Dec. 2, 2016, at 6:30 p.m. (Submitted photo)
The Oak Ridge Woman’s Club and the Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department will sponsor the annual Christmas tree lighting and reception at 6:30 p.m. December 2.
Participants should gather at the Secret City Commemorative Walk on the east side of the Oak Ridge Public Library parking lot for a brief ceremony, a press release said. A reception with seasonal music and entertainment will be held in the Oak Ridge Civic Center gymnasium immediately following the tree lighting. Light refreshments will be served.
Visit the Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks website at orrecparks.org for information about other city events and programs.
Pictured above from left to right in front are Brent Robinson, Lucas Dunning, and Lewis Wang; in the second row are Jas Jakowski, Hannah Wilder, Audrey Bufton, Shichen Zhang, Ashley Riedy, Lauren Collier, Sam Sepulveda, Candace Pang, Shreyank Patel, Curtis Rookard; and in back are Hannah Oran, Kolton Reedy, Kevin Reedy, Alexis Palau, Kristina Reed, Macy Barclay, Joel Turner, Christian Thompson, Peter Magill, Rebecca Kolling, and Stella Powell. (Submitted photo)
The Oak Ridge Youth Advisory Board members recently voted to spend time and money Christmas shopping at Kmart for area children through Mission of Hope.
The board raises funds at various events throughout the year to make this possible. In total, the board spent more than $1,500 on gifts.
“The YAB would like to encourage other student groups and families to consider holiday projects that help those in need, while also reminding everyone to shop in Oak Ridge this holiday season!” a press release said. [Read more…]
