Christmas in Clinton County is well underway as several events took place last week to kick off the holiday season.
On Wednesday night, the Community Worship Service was held around the courthouse, with the lighting of the Community Christmas Tree to close out the night.
This year offered a new element to the mix with the PTA sponsored Christmas Tree Court, where people, organizations and businesses could decorate a tree and get judged as a contest.
“We couldn’t be happier with the turn out and the response from the community. Each sponsor added their own unique touches to each tree, making them all different and difficult to pick one favorite. Not only were we in awe of the beauty of the trees, but also in the story each tree told about the sponsors,” PTA President Sarah Browning said. “We feel this project will continue to grow and look forward to seeing more involvement each year. PTA would like to thank everyone for participating, as well as acknowledging the Foothills Festival Committee for allowing us to use their property.”
Browning said there have already been more than 2,100 votes for the Christmas Tree Court Viewer’s Choice Award and the winners will be announced on December 8th. The trees will still remain available for viewing until December 16th.
The Community Worship Service on Wednesday night welcomed more than 100 people to the square.
Extension Agent for Family and Consumer Sciences Christy Stearns said she hopes the event will grow for many years to come.
“We want to thank the Community Choir, Taylor Likens and Bro. Nathan Britt, and the Highway Nazarene Praise Group for sharing their musical talents. Bro. Nathan Britt also shared a reading of the Christmas story and Bro. Jim England provided the pastoral holiday message. A special thanks to Lee’s Chapel youth for the live nativity,” Stearns said. “It’s a heart warming experience at each year’s tree lighting ceremony and the worship prior just added to the special feeling of the night. We hope other groups will get involved next year. The first year of any community event is uncertain, but it was a great start to adding new and additional holiday events for our community.”
On Friday night, the Clinton County Fair Board and the Albany/Clinton County Community Foundation hosted the Christmas Parade and Albany Lights events.
Spokeperson for the foundation, Willard Johnson, said the event went really well, considering the weather.
“We had a good turnout and the vendors sold out of their items,” Johnson said. “We had a lot of people donate and help out with the event … I thought it went really good. We plan to continue this for Albany Nights. We got some new and exciting things coming. We have plans to bring in a skating rink for next Christmas. Our objective is to put people on the square and we did that.”
The two-night Christmas event was a success for this year and Stearns said she hopes it will grow even more in years to come.
“From an overall planning perspective, I think it was great to add activities on the square prior to the parade. The reaction of children to the beautiful lights of the parade brings a smile to everyone around. We appreciate the Community Foundation and the Fair Board for sponsoring those activities. All of these events take time to grow and become an annual event that everyone knows is happening, gets ready to support it in whatever way they can, and commits to staying local and supporting our hometown,” Stearns said. “We’ve been lighting the Community Christmas Tree since 2017 and we’ve tried to add at least one new event each year. I know it’s easy to say there’s not much here compared to other towns, but what folks overlook is the comparison of what we have to communities that have been doing some of their holiday events for decades with resources that we may not have.”
As for next year, planning for that event will start in January according to Stearns.
“We welcome anyone who wants to get involved to join us and will share those meeting details as soon as the date is finalized,” Stearns said. “Everyone who is involved in the holiday effort does so because they love our community and want to create traditions and experiences that connect families and help our hometown grow.”

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hildren played in the Christmas Tree Court while snow was falling on Wednesday night.

Santa and Mrs. Claus talked to two children during the Community Worship Service last week.

Above, the annual Lighting of the Community Christmas Tree took place at the conclusion of the Community Worship Service on Wednesday. Below, this year’s new event, sponsored by the PTA, was the Christmas Tree Court. More than 35 trees were decorated by businesses, organizations and individuals and will be available for viewing until December 16.

Benny the Elf made his first appearance in Albany Friday night during the parade.