Downtown Country Christmas Festival

About this event

… A Celebration of Childhood Memories from the Great Riverbend Area! The Festival is a multi-day event starting the Friday after Thanksgiving. The main event starts at 2pm on Saturday the 25, 2017. Through Sponsorships from Local Government, Businesses, Charities, and Families the downtown corridor of Jerseyville is transformed into a wonderland of holiday lights and activities for the entire family.

This festival is about building up and supporting the community in which we live. It gives all families the opportunity to come out and no matter the financial constraints that life has placed on them during the rest of the year, a family will be able to participate without the worry of… can we afford it. This year we have added 10 additional Kids activities to the day to allow more participants in on the fun. All the Kids games have no fee for participation and each child will walk away with a small prize when they finish (Candy, experience or Trinket). 

We have free photos with Santa Sponsored by two business in the area and Santa’s arrival marks the kickoff of the event, he will arrive by helicopter.

One of the local farming organizations are assisting with a Holiday Hay Ride for the Children, pulled by some of the finest antique tractors in Jersey County. Our local business community sponsors each Kids Activity and many bring specialty equipment to showcase at the festival. Many children who live in the Metro area can see something up close that they would normally only see on the tv. Some of the business members transform their storefront into various holiday activity hotspots. Elf School – learning the ways of an elf, The North Pole Post Office – getting your letter sent to Santa on time, and Mrs. Claus’s Bake Shop – find all the holiday treats to get the season off to a great start are just some of the ideas for this year.

We also have added a wonderful picnic area on the main thoroughfare where families can gather, enjoy music and talent from far and wide. This area also serves as the designated area for the patrons of the local bars and restaurants to patronize those bars and then rejoin the family with their beverage at the picnic tables to make memories to last a lifetime listening to some great Bands, all of that is at the State Street Stage.

Under the City of Jerseyville Tent our school district will be well represented with numerous bands, choirs, and other organizations performing throughout the day, including the MUNY Kids.

The City of Jerseyville allows the Christmas Festival to use the 32ft Christmas tree to showcase the families of the area. Each family in the area has the opportunity to donate to the festival and in return they receive a 14” snowflake on the city tree for the duration of the Holiday Season. The City also takes the opportunity at the festival to have a community tree lighting. We award the Kringle Award to a well deserving community member and announce various winners of competitions hosted by the festival. Numerous Charities are represented at the festival, all looking to make the holidays easier for the kids.

The festival spearheads the decorating of the downtown area and a majority of the decorations from the Festival stay for all to enjoy during the month of December. Live trees (with root ball) covered in lights fill the planters downtown. Lights around the courthouse and 15ft wooden reindeer keep watch on the corner. The festival will end with a business sponsored lighted Christmas parade around the festival grounds. Putting a finishing touch on a wonderful day. So many volunteers give a lot of time, making sure that this event happens without a hitch. The majority of our board started the planning in February for the November 1 day event. We want to show the visitor that we may be a small community, but we have so much to offer in Jersey County. A weekend or a day trip we welcome everyone to Explore all we have to offer!