Here's what's happening this holiday season in St. Mary

The Cajun Coast Visitors & Convention Bureau has compiled a list of holiday events around the region. They include:
Morgan City Main Street will host Moonlight Monday Shopping from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Nov. 23 on Downtown Historic Front Street. Meal tickets will be sold at Café Jo Jo’s, and a book signing will be held at the Frame Shop & Gallery Coffee. Contact 985-385-1770 for more information.
On Nov. 26, the city of Morgan City and town of Berwick will host Christmas lighting events. Morgan City’s ceremony will begin at 6 p.m. with a surprise visit by Santa at the shrimp boat on Brashear Avenue. Berwick’s annual lighting and Meet Santa and Mrs. Claus will be held at Town Hall at 6 p.m.
Meanwhile, the city of Patterson will hold its annual Christmas lighting ceremony at 5:30 p.m. Nov. 29 in the parking lot of Patterson City Hall.
The Traditional Idlewild Plantation Christmas Lighting driving tour will take place Nov. 29 through Dec. 31. Take a ride along a path filled with elaborate displays of Christmas lights while Christmas music enhances the drive through Kemper Williams Park in Patterson. Admission is $2 per car. Open from 5 to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 5 to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, dependent on weather.
Throughout the month of December, the halls of historic homes in St. Mary Parish will be decked for the holidays. Enjoy a Victorian Christmas at the Grevemberg House in Franklin with displays of a traditional Victorian tree and seasonal greenery. Open daily except Christmas Eve and day, admission is $10 per person, $8 for seniors.
Also, Oaklawn Manor, the residence of Louisiana’s former governor and first lady, Mike and Alice Foster, will be adorned for Christmas with a different style tree in every room. Visitors can view Oaklawn’s Christmas décor December 7, 2015 through January 3, 2016. Admission is $15 per person and $10 for students. Hours to tour these homes are from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, with the exception of Oaklawn Manor, which is closed on Mondays.
December’s Franklin First Thursday Celebration will be Dec. 3. Themed “Christmas under the Lampposts,” downtown merchants will have extended hours and feature specials and refreshments to usher in the holiday shopping season.
Dec. 5 brings holiday fun in Franklin with the Christmas under the Lampposts celebration and Christmas parade. The parade begins at 6 p.m. at the corner of Jackson and Main streets and concludes at Courthouse Square with the lighting of the parish tree.
Walkers and golf cart drivers are being sought for the parade, while nonprofits are being sought for food vendors and children’s activities. There is no fee to be involved, but all participants must complete registration forms. The deadline to register is Nov. 20. Contact 337-828-6345 or ashields@franklin-la.com for more information and registration forms.
A free public screening of the Christmas movie “Polar Express” will be held in downtown Morgan City’s Lawrence Park at 6 p.m. Dec. 11. Contact 985-385-1770 for more information.
Live entertainment is abundant this Christmas season on the Cajun Coast.
The first of two theatre productions will be “Rudolph” by the Tri-City Youth Theatre at the Morgan City Municipal Auditorium Dec. 7 at 6 p.m. Admission is $5 per person at the door.
“A Christmas Carol” will be staged Dec. 10-12 at 7 p.m. nightly at the Teche Theatre for the Performing Arts in Franklin. Tickets are $15 per person and are available at Lamp Lighter Antiques in Franklin. Contact 337-366-1845, email techetheatreboard@gmail.com or log on www.ttpaonline.com for more information.
The United States Marine Corps Forces Reserve Band from New Orleans will perform a Christmas concert benefitting Toys for Tots at 7 p.m. Dec. 8 in the Paul Schreier Theatre in the Municipal Auditorium in Morgan City. Admission is a new, unwrapped toy to be donated to the Marine Corps League, St. Mary Detachment.
Musical celebrations continue on Dec. 13. The annual “Lessons and Carols” Christmas Concert will be held at 2 p.m. at the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary on Main Street in Franklin. Meanwhile, Pharr Chapel on Federal Avenue in Morgan City will host the annual Christmas Cantata at 10 a.m. Dec. 20.
The Wedell-Williams Aviation & Cypress Sawmill 20th Annual Christmas Tree Festival Exhibit Open House will be held Dec. 10 at the Louisiana State Museum in Patterson from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Christmas trees decorated by area children will be on exhibit. Visitors will be able to view the Christmas trees and hear children from local schools singing holiday carols. Admission is free. Contact 985-399-1268 for more information.
The American Cancer Society, along with MC Bank & Trust Co., will host the 17th Annual “Love Lights a Tree” Christmas tree lighting ceremony from 6 to 7 p.m. Dec. 10at the MC Bank location on the corner of Victor II Boulevard and Brashear Avenue in Morgan City to honor those who have been touched by cancer. Contact 985-384-2100 to find out how to dedicate an ornament to a loved one.
On Dec. 12, the city of Patterson’s 2nd Annual Christmas Boat Lighting Parade will be held at 6 p.m. starting at Cajun Jack Swamp Tours and ending at Bridge Road in the Lower Atchafalaya. Any kind of personal boat is welcome to enter, and you do not have to be a resident of Patterson to participate. Registration is required with a $25 entry fee. First-, second- and third-place prizes will be awarded to the best light decorated boats in the parade. Deadline for entering the boat parade is Dec. 4. For more information, or to obtain an entry form, contact Ryan Aucoin at City Hall at ryan.aucoin@cityofpattersonla.gov or call 985-395-5205. An awards ceremony will follow at Patterson City Hall.
Also on Dec. 12 is the kickoff of the Bernice Street Christmas by Candlelight event from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. in Morgan City. Enjoy home decorations, entertainment, refreshments and Santa. Free to the public, but a donation of a canned good or cash to be distributed to the needy through St. Mary Outreach is requested. Contact 985-384-8003 for more information.
The city of Patterson will host its annual Christmas Parade at 2 p.m. Dec. 13 down La. 182 in Patterson.
For more events and information, contact the Cajun Coast office at 1-800-256-2931 or 985-380-8224, or visit www.cajuncoast.com/christmasevents