It's beginning to look a lot like ... Christmas activities planned

Christmas is coming, and Ozark Countians' calendar are filling up with church and social activities celebrating the season.

First up this Saturday, Dec. 3, is Bakersfield's "Country Christmas" celebration, beginning with breakfast with Santa from 9 to 11 a.m. in the Bakersfield School cafeteria. The cost is $2 per person for pancakes, sausage, milk and coffee. Bring cameras to take photos with Santa.

Participants in the Bakersfield Christmas parade should line up for judging at 11 a.m. in the high school parking lot. The parade officially starts at noon. Prizes range from $50 to $100.

Students in the Bakersfield School have nominated and elected winners of the Mr. and Miss Christmas contests. Mr. and Miss Merry Christmas have been elected from grades 9-12, Little Mr. and Miss Merry Christmas from grades 6-8, Mr. and Miss Snowflake for kindergarten through grade 5. The winners will be announced Saturday and will ride in the Christmas parade.

For information about the Bakersfield Christmas activities, call Dianna Stover, 284-3739.

Dec. 10 in Gainesville: ‘Imagine!'

Gainesville's Christmas events are on Saturday, Dec. 10. Organizers have planned a Christmas block party and parade around the theme "Imagine!"

Activities start at 3 p.m. on the west side of the square with music by the Bakersfield Acoustic String Band, winners of the people's choice award at the 2010 West Plains Battle of the Bands. Music continues through the afternoon, including the Community Choir performing selections from this year's Christmas cantata, "Glory in the Highest" (see below for the choir's performance schedule).

The traditional Mr. and Miss Merry Christmas pageant begins at 3:30 p.m. under the supervision of Nancy Walker, who has directed the pageant for decades. The pageant is open to all 4- and 5-year-old boys and girls. All participants receive gifts, including a handmade nametag, which many parents choose to use as Christmas ornaments for years to come, Walker said. So that pageant volunteers have time to make the nametags, parents who wish to enter their children in the pageant are asked to call Walker beforehand at 679-4493.

"But if they forget or just show up that day and want their child to be in the pageant, that's okay too," she said. "We'll work it out."

She reminded parents that winners are chosen not on fancy clothes and hairstyles but on personality. The winning boy and girl will receive additional prizes and will be invited to participate in various community events throughout the year, including riding in the Christmas parade and the Hootin an Hollarin parade.

Other activities during the afternoon of "Imagine!" include John Harlin reading the Christmas story, as he's done for years. Mr. Santa and Mrs. Claus will be on hand, and there will be fun activities for kids, possibly including train rides, horse rides and a bounce house. Vendors will offer Christmas crafts as well as hot food and drinks.

The lighting of the Christmas tree will be one of the afternoon's highlights, along with the Christmas parade, which starts at 5:30 behind Town & Country Supermarket. Participants who enter floats in the parade are asked to arrive 30 minutes early for judging. At press time Tuesday, co-chair Jenny James said only two floats had been entered. Three prizes will be awarded, ranging from $300 to $100, "so I hope folks will come up with some good ideas for floats, because we've got some good prizes to give away," she said.

For more information, contact Sherrill Thompson and Jenny James at 679-4616 or call Thompson at home at 284-3903.

Christmas Cantatas

Two Ozark County choirs will be performing Christmas cantatas this year.

The Theodosia United Methodist Church choir will perform "Meet Him at the Manger" at 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 3, and 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 4. The cantata, to be performed in the church on Highway 160 in Theodosia, is directed by Nancy Wilson with Linda Harlin as accompanist.

The Ozark County Community Choir, consisting of about 20 singers from all parts of the county, will perform "Glory in the Highest" at 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 4, at Lilly Ridge Baptist Church, off Highway 160 east of Gainesville. The cantata is directed by Lou Arta Corbin. Other performances will be at 6 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 4, at First Baptist Church in Gainesville; at 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 11, at First Christian Church on Highway 160 east of the Gainesville square; and at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 18, at Gainesville Health Care Center on Highway 160/5 south.

Ozark County Toy Drive

Doors will open for the Ozark County Toy Drive at 9 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 17, at the Ozark County Senior Center on Third Street in Gainesville. The all-volunteer effort, an Ozark County tradition for nearly half a century, provides free Christmas toys and gifts for the parents of Ozark County children who otherwise might not have find a present under the tree on Christmas morning.

This year as many as 400 to 450 children are expected to receive gifts through the project. Parents usually line up the night before and wait through the night for their turn to go inside and "shop" for their children. "They just seem to want to do this, although we've never run out of toys," said organizer Nancy Walker.

Volunteers at First Baptist Church, across the street from the senior center, open the church at 6 a.m. so parents can have access to restrooms and coffee.

The project depends on the generosity of the community and a small group of volunteers. Walker could use more of both this year. To volunteer, call Walker at 679-4493. Mail tax-deductible checks, payable to Ozark County Toy Drive, to Walker at HC 3 Box 41, Gainesville, MO 65655. Every penny goes toward gifts for the kids, says Walker. "If you want a receipt, please include a stamped, self-addressed envelope."

<p>Gainesville city employee Karl Thaning hangs Christmas
decorations on the square recently as city maintenance director
William Walrath steadies the bucket on the backhoe. Gainesville's
Christmas block party and parade festivities begin at 3 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 10. Bakersfield's Christmas events are this
Saturday, Dec. 3.</p>