The Sights & Sounds of Christmas

By Preethi Mangadu
Web Content Contributor

The holiday spirit has been brought to life in San Marcos with the annual Sights & Sounds of Christmas Festival. After a year of not being held due to the pandemic, Sights & Sounds took place on Dec. 2-4 and will again on Dec. 9-11 from 5:30 p.m. to 11:00 p.m in the San Marcos City Park.

The festival was founded in 1987 by the Sights & Sounds of Christmas Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit that is based in San Marcos. Their goal is “to provide the San Marcos community and surrounding areas with an exciting holiday celebration for all,” as their mission statement states on their website.

To achieve that, they host several food vendors, activities, carnival games, and rides. With the help of volunteers from the community, the Sights & Sounds of Christmas Foundation has raised over $300,000 to help other local nonprofit organizations.

Many nonprofit organizations worked as food vendors, and small businesses were featured in Santa’s Gift Shop. Due to last year, both groups had a setback, and through this festival, the foundation hoped to help them out.

The biggest event of this festival is Santa’s Jingle Bell 5k Run and Kids K, a kid’s version of the run, which were both established by past president Brian Olson, over a decade ago. They are set to take place on Dec. 11th at the San Marcos Plaza Park.

Another unique feature of the festival is McCoy’s petting zoo which is free for all attendees. They feature goats, sheep, alpacas, a donkey, and more for everyone to interact with and feed.

Attendees are also able to fly high through the many carnival rides, such as the Yo-Yo, the Orbiter, the Star Ship, and more, featured throughout the event. The main attraction is the Ferris Wheel that overlooked the entire festival at its peak.

Many artists and groups are also featured at two performance areas on the festival grounds such as High Fidelity, Wyzer, DJ Ruben, The Ace Pepper Band, Maddie Dawn & Cole McArthur, TXST Folcorico, and more.

The event would not be possible without the many volunteers and sponsors that help everything run smoothly. This year the event was sponsored by Christus Santa Rosa Hospital, LaCima, Chuck Nash Auto Group, Lions International, and more. The many beautiful lights and lighting fixtures displayed across the event were sponsored by illumination IQ and Decor IQ.

For more information visit the Sights & Sounds of Christmas website here.