Searcy, Arkansas, Is The Ultra-Festive Christmas Town Of Our Sugar-Plum Dreams

Holiday celebrations are a way of life in Searcy. Every November and December, the small town in north central Arkansas comes alive with dozens of events, thousands of twinkling lights, and festive flair as far as the eye can see. The town’s Holiday of Lights programming runs the gamut from beautiful light displays to special events and lasts for weeks on end. In Searcy, Christmas isn’t just a day—it’s a season celebrated long and hard. Locals have long embraced the prolonged and delightfully extravagant fanfare, and lately visitors from across the country have begun to catch on to the magic of Searcy. Here are all the best ways to experience the utter enchantment of Searcy, Arkansas this holiday season.

Delight In The Idyllic Downtown

The crowned jewel of downtown Searcy is the White County Courthouse, a stately red-brick structure with white columns, a domed clock tower, and decades of history since its construction in 1871. During the holidays, Arkansas’s oldest courthouse gets all dressed up with several lit Christmas displayed out front and thousands of lights strung around its columns, windows, and landscaping. The rest of the charming downtown follows suit with plenty more lights and spirited window displays that look straight off Fifth Avenue.

The town lighting takes place on Tuesday, November 20, with decorations remaining up until after Christmas. Other downtown fun includes the Searcy Christmas Parade, held in early December. The parade featured more than 120 floats in 2022 and is expected to be larger this year.

For all the nostalgic holiday feels, catch a show at the historic Rialto Theater, or take a horse and carriage ride around downtown. Starting after Thanksgiving and running on select days through the week of Christmas, you can take a free ride around town and fulfill your wildest fairytale dreams.

Watch The Town Light Up

It’s not just downtown that dons its sparkly best for the holidays. There are several other places around Searcy that get also get all gussied up for the holidays. Searcy Holiday Lights is the town’s biggest attraction. This year the official lighting takes place on Tuesday, November 22 at Berryhill Park, with more magnificent displays simultaneously lighting up at Spring Park, Yancey Park, and downtown. Another great spot for light spotting is the gorgeous campus of Harding University. They’re known for their spectacular icicle lights that hang from the campus’s many mature trees.

Get Up Close And Personal With Santa

When we say the community gets into the Christmas spirit, we mean it. Each year, longtime Searcy resident Wanda Emde, also known as “The Santa Lady”, shares her good cheer by lending her gigantic collection of Santas to the Searcy community center so folks can take a gander at her gathering of more than 1,000 unique figurines, the largest collection in all of Arkansas.

If you want to meet Santa in real life, the town hosts several Santa on the Square events throughout the season where kids can visit with Saint Nick and give him their Christmas wish lists. There’s also a Santa Story Time at the Courthouse, Breakfast with Santa at First Baptist Church, and a special sensory sensitive session with Santa at Harding University for little ones with unique needs.

But the magic doesn’t end there. Kids can drop off their letters to Santa at several participating local businesses from November 22 through December 14, and he’ll actually write back!  

Listen To The Music

There’s nothing better than a Christmas carol. For those who love to Fa La La all year long, Searcy offers plenty of opportunities to spread that cheer by singing loud for all to hear. Harding University’s music department hosts several free holiday concerts including a Christmas Spectacular Concert, Choral Christmas Concert, Orchestra Christmas Concert, and Chamber Singers Christmas Concert. For a real treat, visit Smyrna Church, which also happens to be the oldest church building in Arkansas, for an old-fashioned Christmas handbell concert.

See A Living Nativity

To celebrate the true meaning of the Christmas season, head to the Searcy First Assembly of God Church to see a real-life nativity. The devoted church body puts on a live-action, drive-thru scene of Bethlehem and the birth of Christ on several nights throughout the month of December.