The City of Oxford hosted this year’s “Lighting of the Square” on Thursday, Nov. 13, illuminating the town center to mark the beginning of the holiday season.
Oxford residents packed the Square, with crowds stretching down the roads and filling the sidewalks. Lights were hung from the Lafayette County Courthouse in the center of the Square to surrounding buildings. Trees were decorated with Christmas lights, and City Hall was adorned with white lights outlining the trim of the building.
Lifelong Oxford resident Wendy Bullard-Smith was impressed with this year’s lighting and said she liked this one better than last year’s.
“I come every year. (I was) born and raised in Oxford,” Bullard-Smith said. “Everything looked beautiful this year, better than last year. (There were) a lot more people this year, which makes it more fun. The lighting first started years ago with little buildings, then they brought back the canopy of lights like they did in the old days.”
Oxford Mayor Robyn Tannehill reintroduced the canopy of lights from the courthouse to surrounding buildings on the Square after she was first elected to office in 2017.
The Oxford Civic Chorus sang Christmas carols before the lights were turned on to get the crowd in the holiday spirit. Santa and Mrs. Claus also made an appearance, walking around the Square and talking to attendees. Many families took pictures with Santa outside of City Hall following the lighting.
Kinney Ferris, executive director of Visit Oxford, shared how much the Christmas lighting means to Visit Oxford and the city.
“We’re proud to see our snow-globe town shine each holiday season and deeply appreciate the many hours of planning and hard work from all city departments, especially our buildings and grounds team,” Ferris said.
The city began work on the holiday scene in early September, stringing 30,000 Christmas lights and seven miles of wire, according to reporting from Caitlyn Salus from Newswatch.
UM students Jack Greer, a freshman studies major, and Alex Bleich, a freshman allied health studies major, joined in the festivities at the lighting of the Square for the first time.
“It is magical — that is really the only word to describe it,” Greer said. “We like how all the lights are hung to connect to the middle of the Square.”
Bleich was pleasantly overwhelmed by the holiday spirit.
“We are in the process of walking around and taking it all in,” Bleich said.
Others, like Brinkley Boswell, a senior integrated marketing communications major, have come to the event previously and enjoyed this display of lights just as much.
“It’s so magical,” Boswell said. “It’s just a little snow-globe town and I love it. This is the first time I have been back since my freshman year, so it was great to come back and see all of the lights.”
Oxford’s Square will remain an idyllic holiday scene for the rest of the year. The lights are usually turned off in early January, but the date has not been decided on at the time of publication.
