Maps highlight Christmas lights in area

Published 10:46 am Friday, December 11, 2020

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By HUNTER CLOUD

The Natchez Democrat

NATCHEZ — Spectacular Christmas lights installed this week on Main Street courtesy of online streaming giant Netflix are a must-see, but those are not the only Christmas lights in town or in Adams County.

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To help you find other great Christmas lights throughout Natchez and Adams County, the Christmas in Natchez Committee and Visit Natchez teamed up to create a Natchez Christmas Lights Driving Tour map.

The tour map lists addresses of well-lit and decorated properties that were submitted to Visit Natchez’s Community and Public Relations director Stratton W. Hall, who compiled the addresses for the Christmas in Natchez Committee and Visit Natchez.

A graphic designer then took the addresses and added them to a map of Natchez and Adams County. Gold numbered stars on the map correspond to numbers 1 through 26 assigned to addresses included in the Christmas Driving Tour.

People can pick up an 11-inch by 17-inch Christmas Lights Driving Tour map from the Natchez Visitor Center at 647 South Canal St. Maps also may be found on Visit Natchez’s website and on the organization’s social media pages.

Hall and Sarah Lindsey Laukhuff, sales and events coordinator at Natchez Grand Hotel & Suites, had worked on a self-guided Crepe Myrtle tour in July and came up with the idea for the Christmas Lights Driving Tour map as a way to organize a Christmas event adhearing to COVID-19 protocols.

“It is a safe and responsible way to enjoy the holiday with your family,” Hall said of the driving tour. “Memorial Park is lit up this year, which is great to walk through and look at. The displays and the lighting on the bluff on Broadway Street, also the addition of the Netflix lights on Main Street. It is pretty magical this year.”

While the list is numbered 1-26 people don’t have to do them in order. Hall recommends driving the route as the locations are spread out, and all the decorations are impressive.

“I’m just impressed that people reached out and have really gotten into the Christmas spirit,” Hall said. “I think this year more than ever we need this.”

This is the first year the Christmas in Natchez Committee has organized the Christmas Lights Driving Tour, and Hall said she hopes the lights tour will continue in years to come.

Feedback from the community is welcome, Hall said, adding people can email her at shall@visitnatchez.org.