Gettysburg Christmas Festival and Christmas Parade a Rain or Shine Event

Gettysburg Christmas Festival and Christmas Parade a Rain or Shine Event

GETTYSBURG - Using the all-weather stalwart Santa Claus as inspiration, organizers of 'A Gettysburg Christmas Festival' and the Gettysburg Community Christmas Parade are not letting a weather forecast slam the brakes on their reindeer.

“All event organizers know they cannot control the weather. A Gettysburg Christmas Festival was designed to be enjoyed indoors and outdoors,” said Deb Adamik, executive director of Main Street Gettysburg.

The all-day holiday experience begins at 9 a.m. The festival offers six distinct holiday experiences in the walkable downtown: A Roaring 20s Christmas on Chambersburg Street, A Colonial Christmas on York Street, Christmas on Stage and Screen and The Arts! On Carlisle Street, Our Christmas Heritage on Baltimore Street’s north end, and a Civil War Christmas on Baltimore Street’s south end.

The festival also includes the Gettysburg Christmas Parade, Breakfast with Santa inside of the Gettysburg Hotel, Gingerbread Celebration and Holiday Mart inside of Open Minds on Lincoln Square and Christmas Greens and Gourmet Gift Sale inside of the Gettysburg Fire Department.

“Many of our wonderful downtown businesses are also planning special experiences for their customers,” A Gettysburg Christmas Festival Chair Roger Lund said.

The parade begins at 1 p.m. at the Gettysburg Middle School on Lefever Street, travels west on Middle Street, south on Baltimore Street and south on Steinwehr Avenue.

Anyone who is seeking information or has to report an emergency during the festival should go to the blue information tents that will be at the Gettysburg Transit Center, Gettysburg Community Theater, Adams County Courthouse, Alumni Park, Gettysburg Tour Center, and Gettysburg Heritage Center.

Public parking will be available at HACC Gettysburg Campus, 731 Old Harrisburg Road, for $10 a car. A free shuttle, courtesy of Gettysburg Tours, will take people to and from HACC to the transportation center. Freedom Transit will have a shuttle running from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.

A complete schedule of events and transportation map can be found at www.AGettysburgChristmasFestival.com.