It’s getting to look a lot like Christmas in Slidell, and beginning next week Olde Towne will look like a winter wonderland as the 22nd annual Christmas Under the Stars celebration gets underway for the holiday season.

The centerpiece of the celebration will be in Griffith Park on Second Street. Beginning Dec. 4, the park will become a panorama of glittering lights and rows of Christmas trees. Overlooking the festivities will be the “giant” Santa that has finally made its appearance after four years. The 25-foot smiling Santa was designed and created by the Mardi Gras float makers, Louis Massett & Company. The friendly giant made its debut in the 2003 Christmas Under the Starts. However, the statue was severely damaged during Hurricane Katrina. After a face life, the towering Santa Claus will once again delight children.

After the Dec. 4 grand opening, it will stay open until Dec. 6, and then from Dec. 10-13 from 6 – 9 p.m. During this time, there will be live entertainment, the lights and the famous Parade of Trees, which are decorated by local schools and non-profit organizations. Admission to the park is free.

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Bring the children, because there will be storytelling starting at 6:15 p.m., followed by a visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus. Santa will pose with children for pictures until 8:30 a.m.

Each night of the Celebration Under the Stars will have a theme. The first night Dec. 4 will be the Night of the Nutcracker. After opening ceremonies at 6 p.m. the Southern Youth Ballet and Ballet Esprit will perform selections from Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker” beginning at 6:30 p.m. To see the complete ballet, the Delta Festival Ballet with the New Orleans Philharmonic Orchestra will dance with Uncle Drosselmeyer at the Northshore Harbor Center Dec. 4-6.

The next night Dec. 5, will be German Christmas in Griffith Park to mark the Eve of St. Nicholas Day. Gisela Sorjonon will tell stories, and there will be Christmas music performed by the Faith Baptist Church Worship Team and the Northshore High School Spanish Honor Society.

Sunday Dec. 6 will be Spanish Christmas night with Marina Stevens telling stories, and entertainment from the First Christian Church Disciples of Christ followed by the Macedonia Baptist Church Praise Dance Team. The Slidell Youth and Community Orchestra will perform next door at the Slidell Auditorium.

Kwanzaa will be celebrated in Griffith Park Dec. 10 with storytelling by Miss Mim. There will be lots of entertainment that night from Whispering Forest Elementary School chorus and the Carolyn Park Middle School chorus singing in the park. Little Oak Middle School band and chorus, plus the Northshore High talented music class will be performing in the Slidell Auditorium. The entire evening will be the Olde Fashioned, Olde Towne Christmas with late-night shopping at stores in Olde Towne.

The Cajuns will show how they celebrate Christmas Dec. 11, with a Cajun Christmas, with Kathy McDowell telling Christmas stories.

Entertainment will be from the St. Luke Church choir and the Alton Elementary School chorus.

Hanukah will be featured Dec. 12 with storytelling by Angie Dick and entertainment by the African Methodist Episcopal Church Mass Choir.

Finally, the last day of Celebration under the Stars on Dec. 13 will have children doing Christmas art project in the park with stories told by Taffy Morrison and music from the Starlight Missionary Baptist Church Mass Choir, and the Little Oak Firecrackers.

Across the street from Griffith Park the Christmas Train and Village will be on display in the Community Room on the first floor of the City Hall. This is the second year the Christmas train set will be operating. Like the giant Santa Clause, the train was damaged in the hurricane, but Slidell residents Sam Caruso Jr., Chris Richier and Joe Sanford spent many hours rebuilding the train and village to continue a long-standing Christmas tradition in Slidell.

For those who would like to hear some patriotic Christmas music, the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve band will perform both Christmas and patriotic music Dec. 9 at the Northshore Harbor Center. The admission is free, but a donation of an unwrapped gift for the Marine’s Toys for Tots would be greatly appreciated.

Finally, if you and your family would like a memento of this year’s Yuletide festivities in Slidell, the city has a limited edition holiday ornament for sale. The ornament features the amphitheater in Heritage Park and costs $15.

The 2007 holiday ornament featuring Santa and Mrs. Claus in the Griffith Park gazebo is also available for $15. Both can be bought at the Department of Cultural and Public Affairs, in the Slidell Municipal Complex at 1330 Bayou Lane.