Concert tops weekend schedule

As the calendar turns to December, many events are planned in the community.

A barbecue lunch fundraiser is planned on Dec. 1 and 2 from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. as part of the Blue Santa Toy Drive on the parking lot of Wal-Mart. For a donation of $5, you receive a BBQ sandwich prepared by CJ Duffey, a bag of chips and a drink. Lunches can be purchased at the site starting at 11 a.m, or orders of five lunches or more can be delivered within the city limits. The BBQ fundraiser benefits Blue Santa, and is sponsored by Choice Hospice.

The annual fundraising Casa Cookie Walk is set for the morning of Friday Dec. 2 at First United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall. Hundreds of beautifully decorated holiday cookies of all varieties will be available for selection, mix and match, at $5 per pound. The Cookie Walk will open at 9 a.m, and last until noon or till all sold out.

Market vendors and downtown merchants are preparing for the annual Christmas Market holiday event in Sulphur Springs on Saturday, Dec. 3, 2022. The festive shopping opportunity which includes door prizes will be open along Main Street from 9 a.m. til 4 p.m. Admission is free to enter Christmas Market.

Mitchell Chapel Church of God in Christ will conduct a food giveaway on Saturday Dec. 3 starting at 10 a.m. A total of 100 food bags will be available for distribution, containing staples and holiday foods. The giveaway will take place from the Fellowship Hall of the church at 402 J. D. Franklin Drive in Sulphur Springs.

The Blue Santa Toy Drive is underway in Hopkins County, to benefit the children of families who have signed up for the holiday- season assistance. The public can place new unwrapped toys in the blue barrels located in the shopping areas of Sulphur Springs, and in blue barrels at schools and locations out in the county. If you can’t shop, you can use the QR code on the side of the barrels to donate online. Also, a two-day Toy Drive will be operated by local law enforcement from 7 a.m. til 7 p.m. on Thursday Dec.1 and on Friday Dec. 2, on the Walmart Parking lot northwest corner. Blue Santa Toy distribution day is Saturday Dec. 10 at FUMC, Sulphur Springs. Unwrapped toys can also be donated during the Lions Club Lighted Parade on Dec. 3, starting at 7 p.m.

Final rehearsals are taking place for the NETexas Choral Society's 'Silver Bells' Christmas Concert to be staged in the SSHS Auditorium of the Civic Center in two performances only: Saturday, Dec. 3 and Sunday Dec. 4 at 2 p.m. Tickets are available at local banks, from Choral Society singers, and at the door. This is the 25th Anniversary year concert.

The Downtown Business Alliance will hold the annual Christmas Tree Lighting by Santa and Mrs. Claus on Celebration Plaza on Saturday Dec. 3. Bring the family, as this event begins before the Parade begins at 7 p.m.

Main Street Theater will present A Christmas Story, The Musical in four performances only, Dec.16-18. Performances will be Friday Dec. 16 at 7 pm, Saturday Dec. 17 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m, and Sunday Dec. 18 at 2 p.m. Tickets are available at communityplayersinc. com or at the box office. Reservations are encouraged as seating is limited. MST is located in downtown Sulphur Springs at 225 Main Street.

The annual Wreaths Across America event on Saturday Dec. 17 will be in Sulphur Springs City Cemetery, Mel Haven Cemetery and nine other cemeteries across the county. It is part of a national recognition to Remember and Honor deceased veterans of all wars. A brielf ceremony will be held in the Myra Wilson Chapel at 11a.m. followed by the laying of Remembrance wreaths at the headstones of veterans interred there.

Everyone may attend the solemn event to share in honoring our country's fallen heroes by placing the beautiful fir wreaths at the marked headstones and saying the name of each veteran aloud.