Light Up Middletown Set to Begin November 27th

On Friday, November 27th, the drive-through light display in Smith Park in downtown Middletown will light up at 6:00 PM. This is the eleventh year for the event that will run every night through New Year's Eve until 10:00 PM, regardless of weather.

If you're looking for an inexpensive holiday activity for the family, Light Up Middletown is a great opportunity. Admission is a donation of any amount. Bring the whole family out to tour the 100 acre park, see the tunnel of lights, the floating sea serpent, a huge Santa's workshop, the penguin village, an airplane, hot air balloon, this year's new candy-cane entrance, and so much more. In addition to the animated lights displays, Santa and Mrs. Claus will greet children every Friday and Saturday evening through December 19th, from 7:00-9:00 PM. For a suggested $10 donation, you can have photos made with Santa.

On December 8th, the annual hot air balloon glow will be added to the display. Ten balloons will inflate and glow like giant ornaments. There will also be entertainment and food on those nights, from 7:00 - 8:30 PM.

Light Up Middletown is constructed and maintained by a group of seventeen volunteers known as the Grandpa Gang. With local businesses providing assistance, such as heavy lifting equipment, the men work from mid-October until opening day to make each year's event is unique and better than ever. For the second year in a row, the group is working to exchange incandescent bulbs with LED bulbs that use less electricity.

If you're interested in bringing a large group, motor coaches, buses, and motor homes are welcome. All arches will accommodate large vehicles. Smith Park is located at 500 Tytus Avenue and every entrance into the city has "Light Up Middletown" signs pointing the way. For more information, call Flo Randall at 513-423-1877 or 513-267-2789.

Holiday Affair on the Square

On November 22, Middletown will kick of the holiday season with the fifth annual A Holiday Affair on the Square. The event will take place from 3:00 - 6:00 PM, with a traditional holiday brunch at the Manchester Inn from 11:00 - 2:00 PM. What began as the opening of the Got Art! exhibit has grown into a daylong celebration of the Art Central District and Middletown's arts community.

The Middletown Art Center will be open from 12:00 - 4:00 PM and it will feature the work of graphic artist and Middletown resident, Sam Ashworth. Central Avenue (between Verity and Main) will be closed to traffic so that guests may experience free horse drawn carriage rides. From 3:00 - 5:00, attendees may visit "Homelessness: Telling Our Own Stories," which is a traveling art exhibit that shows guests what real homeless people experience in their own words.

The Miami Middletown Downtown facility at 4 North Main Street will host a reception for work by the Gerilla Arts Collaborative. They will also be serving free warm beverages and entertainment will be provided by local musician, Chuck Evans. If you'd like to do a little holiday shopping, Fair Trade Goods from over ten different countries will be for sale at the We Can Business Incubator at 1011 Central Avenue from 3:00 - 5:00. A large percentage of the profits go directly to rescuing artists from poverty and homelessness.

At 5:00 PM, the show will shift gears and live entertainment will take the stage at Governor's Square Park on the corner of Central and Broad. Kip Moore and friends from the Middletown Lyric Theatre, the Angel/Wesley Choir from the First United Methodist Church, the GATE music class from Middletown Public Schools and others will perform. The evening will finish with the lighting of the city's Holiday tree.