Christmas Extravaganza
Helping Those in Need
Grace Phillips
Ashland Beacon
With Thanksgiving behind us, it is the official start of the Christmas festivities. While it is a happy time for many families, for others the expectations of gifts and food can create much stress and worry. The Boyd County Community and Economic Development has partnered with the Boyd County Family Resource Centers to help ease these burdens.
Kacy Abrams, Community Development Director invites everyone to a Christmas Extravaganza at the Boyd County Convention Center on December 1st. “We wanted to have something that would be a free event for families to attend. We like to have events that a lot of people can participate in, but we also want to have events that will give back to our community. We have partnered with the Family Resource Centers that help families in need this holiday season through their Angel Trees. It’s a big cost to families, and it’s sad to see so many kids that don’t have what they need. It means a lot to be able to give back to the resource centers because they provide so much to help families.”
Admission to the event is a new, unwrapped toy or a new or gently used coat. Abrams continued, “We are asking that all toys be unwrapped. The coats can be new or gently used and any size. There are middle and high school students that also have needs.”
The doors will open to the event at 6 p.m. with music by local high school students during the first hour for your listening enjoyment. Santa will be there with an open-air photo booth to have your photos taken and printed while you wait. Concessions will also be available to purchase including a hot chocolate bar.
At 7 p.m., you can enjoy the music of Rachel Messer and Connor Dale followed by a concert by the Jason Lovins Band. For more than 20 years, Jason Lovins has shared his testimony on some of the biggest platforms in Christian music. He and the band travel extensively throughout the country sharing how God is constant in life’s mountain tops and valley lows. They have a unique ability to connect to audiences of all ages by combining Lovins’ rich heritage in gospel and country music with contemporary worship.
There will be a number of silent auction items to bid on during the evening. Abrams shared, “There are so many wonderful items. To name of few, Fat Ash has donated over $400 in items including cigars, ashtrays, etc. Maddy Ryan with Symmetry Aesthetics Studio has donated $200 in gift cards. Bellefonte Restaurante has given a really nice basket with tickets to an event at the Paramount, dinner for two, and a bottle of wine. Ervena Howard from Advantage Plus Realty has donated a camping-themed basket … there are too many items to list them all.” All proceeds from the silent auction will also be donated to the Family Resource Centers.
According to Abrams, this will also be the perfect event to kick off the Holiday Light Trail sponsored by Boyd County Tourism. Homes participating in the Light Trail will flip the switches on their beautifully decorated homes at 6 p.m. Maps of the homes participating can be found on the tourism’s Facebook page. Homes will be lit from 6:00-9:00 p.m. Dec. 1-26th, and the public can vote on their favorite homes.
In closing Abrams said, “We look forward to seeing everyone and are happy to be able to give back to our community and the families who make us what we are.”
The Boyd County Convention Center is located at 15605 State Route 180 just past the Flying J at Cannonsburg. If you would like more information on the Christmas Extravaganza event, please call 606.739.4134. If you are not able to attend the event on Dec. 1 and would like to donate, there will be drop-off zones at the Boyd County Tourism offices and the Boyd County Courthouse.
