The city of Ashton is hosting its annual Spirit of Christmas celebration this weekend.
Held the first Saturday in December, the all-day event features an abundance of activities and events for community members and other attendees, such as a craft fair, Nativity scenes from around the world, caroling, musical performances, homemade goods like hot chocolate and a light parade.
“We meet each week and go over all the things to put it together,” said Shealyn Vernon,the chair over the light parade. “Each committee member has different responsibilities and we all kind of put fires out. It is a lot of work and that’s why we start in October.”
Vernon says the main goal of the celebration is to get into the Christmas spirit and be more “service minded.”
“We give back to the community,” Vernon said. “There’s always a surplus. Last year, there was a high number of need for feeding people in our communities and surrounding communities with the food bank and we were able to donate over $1,000 to the food drive.”
Vernon primarily oversees the light parade, which has proven to be a community favorite.
“Each year it’s getting bigger and better, so we decided to open it up to do trailers,” Vernon said. “People put their quads in, they decorate their cars, they do all kinds of stuff.”
Even though the parade is in Ashton, Vernon says it’s open to everyone.
“The more the merrier,” Vernon said. “We want everybody to come. Even Rexburg. We had some people come from Rexburg last year to enter the parade. The word’s getting out there, and we’re excited about that.
The all-day event will begin at North Fremont High School, then go to Pocket Park and Main Street.