ENID – A series of Christmas holiday events are attracting out-of-town visitors to Enid – not just from surrounding counties, but from out of state.
Activities include traditional events like the annual holiday concert at the Chisholm Trail Expo Center, a new event – Christmas in the Village – at the Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center, and a Christmas concert by country music artist Brian White at 7 p.m. Dec. 15 at the Gaslight Theatre in downtown Enid.
This will be the eighth year for the holiday concert at the Chisholm Trail Expo Center, said Steven Barnes, general manager of the facility owned by Garfield County.
Celtic Thunder Christmas is this year’s show, scheduled at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 18. Previous performers for the shows include Tony Orlando, Glen Campbell and Dionne Warwick.
“We usually have a couple of thousand people here for the show,” Barnes said.
This year, like previous years, the annual holiday concert is attracting out-of-town visitors.
“We have sold tickets to people from Virginia who are flying in,” he said. “We have sold tickets to people from Kansas, Arkansas and Texas.”
The concert is popular with families and groups. Floor seating includes tables with seating for eight or 10.
“We (will) have linen tablecloths and finger foods,” Barnes said.
In addition to the out-of-state visitors, charter buses are also bringing groups to Enid for the concert, said Marcy Jarrett, director of the Enid Convention & Visitors Bureau.
“We have three groups coming out of Oklahoma City in motor coaches,” Jarrett said.
Christmas in the Village opened Sunday at the Chisholm Trail Expo Center. Activities continue on Saturday and Dec. 17.
The event in Humphrey Heritage Village at the Chisholm Trail Expo Center was developed so visitors can experience Christmas like it was 100 years ago in the Cherokee Outlet.
The Cherokee Strip Heritage Center is 24,000 square foot and includes five exhibit galleries, 2,000 square feet of rotating exhibit space, a theater, a research center and Humphrey Heritage Village, which features historic buildings. The buildings include a U.S. Land Office, a 1902 church, a 1895 one-room school and the 1905 Victorian home and family belongings of J.W. and Alice Glidewell.
Christmas in the Village will include food and musical entertainment in the church. The Glidewell house will be decorated for the holidays and open for tours. The schoolmarm at Turkey Creek School will provide lessons on how to make a holiday craft ornament. Santa will be available for photographs.
“We hope this becomes an annual event,” Jarrett said.