Families from all over make arrangements to attend Natchitoches’ annual Christmas Festival. Children bring their parents and grandparents back to the City of Lights where they grew up, or where they visited as children.

“It’s a family tradition,” said Festival Director Lee Waskom. “Since taking over management of the festival in 2012 the Historic District Business Association (HDBA) has done well and I feel we’ve really taken the festival to the next level.”

What most visitors, or even residents, may not realize is the effort that goes into creating such a memorable experience.

The parade did well, despite dealing with four trains that rolled through town as organizers were launching its 85 pieces.

“We had to launch pieces of the parade out of order to prevent gaps,” said Jill Leo, festival and events director for the HDBA. “The crew in charge of the parade lineup made good decisions to keep things flowing smoothly.”

While the parade has had up to 120 pieces in past years, the parade committee has thinned entrants down to the best by creating a list of very detailed standards to hold everyone to.

“It’s all about the experience,” said Waskom.

There are a lot of intricacies when it comes to the Christmas Festival Waskom said he is tremendously thankful for everyone who volunteers. These are community members who have jobs and priorities, yet still band together to celebrate the season and give visitors the best possible experience when they visit the City of Lights.

There are always opportunities to volunteer. There are also several openings on the festival board, which include a Finance Committee Chair, Booth Chair and Monetary Control, and Insurance and Liability Chair. For information email festival@natchitocheschristmas.com.

A detailed public financial statement will be released in early February, which will disclose all the finalized revenues and expenses. The following is a preliminary summary of the success of the 2017 festival.

Armband Sales:

Festival Day was up 10 percent over 2015 for adult armband sales. It was up 28 percent in overall sales.

Festival Day was up 7 percent over 2014 for adult armband sales. It was up 20 percent in overall sales.

There were roughly 30,000 people inside the gated area on festival weekend plus another 25,000 outside the gated area. There were around 8,000 inside the gated area on the other weekends and 3,000 outside of it.

Extra weekends, when totaled together, showed a 13 percent growth in sales and in attendance over 2016.

Opening weekend was very well attended.

Green Ticket Sales:

The sale of green tickets is used to monitor sales for all riverbank vendors (food and entertainment) and allows for correct sales tax collections. In most festivals nationwide, before they switched to a ticketing system, as little as 1/3 of the actual sales were being reported.

Green ticket sales provides monetary safety and speed at vendor booths when paying for items. Vendors no longer have to worry about employee or customer theft. They also don’t have to worry about providing change or handling any money at all.

Sales for 2017 are up 3 percent over 2015 (~$482,000) and close to $500,000 in total sales

“It’s a way to keep the whole system honest,” said Waskom.

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