Olde Time Christmas to kick off in Jim Thorpe Friday
The 34th Annual Olde Time Christmas Festival in Jim Thorpe will be held Dec. 4-6 and Dec. 12-13.
Sponsored by the Jim Thorpe Tourism Agency, the event will kick off Dec. 4 with a tree lighting celebration at Josiah White Park at 5 p.m. There will be music, caroling and dancing.Santa will arrive by firetruck at 6 p.m. to light the Christmas tree, donated by Beisel's Christmas Tree Hill in Lehighton.Also Friday evening, St. Mark's Episcopal Church, 21 Race St., will host an open house with tours, caroling, guitar music and refreshments, from 6 to 8:30 p.m.Donations are requested to benefit St. Mark's.Throughout Olde Time Christmas, visitors can enjoy train rides with Santa at Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway; a gingerbread house display and children's story time at the Dimmick Memorial Library, 54 Broadway; the eighth annual display of more than 500 crèches from around the world (Dec. 5 and 6) at St. John Lutheran Church, 319 South Ave.; holiday shows and concerts at the Mauch Chunk Opera House, 14 W. Broadway; and shopping Jim Thorpe's unique shops and galleries.Shops, galleries, restaurants, pubs and other local businesses will have sprigs of the "kissing plant" strategically hung. Folks can bring home a little Jim Thorpe love, with mistletoe sold by the tourism agency outside of the train station in Josiah White Park.The Gilded Cupid, 40 Broadway, will feature a German old-world themed tree display from 12:30 to 5 p.m. on both Saturdays. Fireside stories for children will be presented at 2 p.m. on both days.J.F. Hiatt's fireside stories for adults only are also back by popular demand at 9 p.m. on both Saturdays. Reservations are required and refreshments will be served. The cost is $10. A portion of donations from the afternoon and evening events will benefit the Wounded Warrior Project.There are many charitable opportunities to give back this year, including the annual Toy Drive and Mitten Tree collections. Stone Row Pub and Eatery is celebrating the season with a Steam Punk Tea offering that benefits St. Mark Episcopal Church's bell restoration fund.For more information on Olde Time Christmas events, visit