By Jessica Tuggle
jtuggle@hometownnewsol.com
SEBASTIAN — This weekend will be full of holiday activities for Sebastian families and visitors.
At 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 30, Sebastian businesses will deck the halls and light up the night with Christmas décor for the 24th annual Light Up Night, put together by the Sebastian River Area Chamber of Commerce.
Each year, businesses all over Sebastian decorate their establishments with lights, holly and berries and other holiday decorations and invite residents and visitors to stop in for refreshments, sales and in-house drawings, said Britney Faulk, operations director at the chamber.
Maps of all the participating businesses are available at the chamber, she said.
Usually there are about 30 businesses that participate, so members of the public can bounce around from place to place the entire night, enjoying businesses in Sebastian they may not visit very often, Ms. Faulk said.
“Everyone knows that a staple of Light Up Night is Lisanne Robinson’s Beyond Useless Boutique and her eggnog,” she said.
Each business has the opportunity for bragging rights as secret judges will go around evaluating the businesses’ decorations in four categories: best traditional indoor and outdoor, and best Christmas fantasy indoor and outdoor.
“We just tell them the categories and they go to town,” Ms. Faulk said.
On Dec. 1, the holiday parade returns and more than 40 organizations are expected to participate in the trek along Indian River Drive from Main Street to Riverview Park.
Bruce Zingman of the Sebastian Property Owners Association said participants will include a color guard, and members from churches, schools, dance schools, small businesses, Boys and Girl scouts and more.
The two boat launches in that area will be closed from about 3:30 p.m. through the end of the parade, and Indian River Drive will be closed until the parade passes through, Mr. Zingman said.
Lineup begins at 5 p.m. and the parade begins at 6 p.m., heading south toward the city park.
“And as always, the last float is Santa Claus,” Mr. Zingman said.
The end of the parade route is Santa’s house in Riverview Park and children are invited to get their picture taken with Santa and whisper their Christmas wishes to him. Each child will receive a stuffed animal after their visit with jolly old St. Nick, Mr. Zingman said.
Parents or guardians should bring their own cameras to take photos, as cameras are not provided, he said.
For more information about either event, contact the Sebastian River Area Chamber of Commerce at (772) 589-5993.