Christmas in the Country returns to Leighton

LEIGHTON – The weekend before Thanksgiving, LaGrange College Site Park will be filled with the sights and sounds of an old-fashioned Christmas attracting locals and visitors of all ages to the historic park for the annual Christmas in the Country.

Set for Nov. 18-19, the two-day event transforms the historic village into sites of Christmas past with traditional decorations, entertainment and free family fun. The fundraising event for the park began several years ago as a Christmas open house where natural, hand-made decorations reflecting olden days were on display.

Today, the event has turned into much more than an open house and offers a bake sale, arts and crafts, entertainment, visits with Santa and Mrs. Claus, hayrides and tours of the pioneer village decked out in Christmas past decorations.

Guests arrive early to purchase homemade baked goods for their Thanksgiving table, enjoy hay rides to the old LaGrange Cemetery, make family pictures for their Christmas cards, purchase craft items and talk with Santa. Guests can relive Christmases of the past while touring the park’s authentic log buildings, all decorated for Christmas.

Hosted by the LaGrange Living Historical Association, Christmas in the Country takes place 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days. LaGrange College Site Park is at 1491 LaGrange College Road in Leighton. Admission is free. Donations are welcomed and go towards the upkeep and maintenance of the facilities at the park.

LaGrange College was Alabama’s first chartered college and the forerunner of the University of North Alabama. The site is listed on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage. The college was burned by Union forces during the Civil War.

Today, the pioneer village includes a picnic pavilion, a memorial monument, several historic markers, a log barn, smoke house, wedding chapel, barber shop, out house, log kitchen, a cemetery, post office, country store, blacksmith shop and a caretaker’s house.

For more information on the park, visit www.lagrangehistoricsite.com.

For more information on Christmas in the Country, call Louise Lenz at 256-446-9324 or Colbert County Tourism at 256-383-0783.