The 2008 holiday season is alive and well in Natchez and will be kicked off this weekend.

The Holiday Arts and Crafts Show will be Saturday and Sunday at the Natchez Convention Center in downtown Natchez.

Once again, Pleasant Acre Day School will sponsor its annual bake sale. The local community as well as parents and friends of the students donate cakes, cookies, pies, casseroles, gumbo and chili. This is a great time to stock your freezer with goodies for the holidays while supporting a worthy cause.

The proceeds from this sale will go toward expenses incurred on the school’s annual trip to the Mississippi Arts Fair for the Handicapped. This is a wonderful experience for the students as they get to interact with their peers, sharing their talents in the performing arts.

Mary Ann Foggo-Eidt and Judy Grimsely are the outstanding teachers who put together a different musical each year, which involves teaching new songs and providing costumes for each star. It is an exciting event for the students and provides an opportunity they may not otherwise have.

This year there will be over 80 booths with handmade arts and crafts. Potters and jewelers will have special demonstrations as well as scrapbooking sessions for children. Hand-knitted blankets will be available along with cookbooks, candles, wreaths, flower arrangements and T-shirts, plus many more items to begin your holiday shopping.

Please join us this weekend and get in the holiday spirit at the Holiday Arts and Crafts Show. The hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday.

Admission is $2 and free for children under 12.

Anyone wishing to donate baked goods and frozen casseroles may bring them to the Natchez Convention Center between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. Friday or before 10 a.m. Saturday.

I hope to see you there.

Linda Barnett is a Pleasant Acre Day School parent.