Christmas-time events are right around the corner, even as residents look forward to celebrating Thanksgiving this week.

The Wylie Arts Festival will be from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 5 at Olde City Park, 112 S. Bal­lard Ave. Some 125 vendors with handmade crafts, fine art and unique items will be at the event, which offers free admis­sion and parking. The event includes food and activities for children. Booths will be prop­erly spaced with large aisles for distancing.

Visitors are asked to follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Gov. Greg Abbott’s COVID-19 rec­ommendations, including the use of masks.

First Baptist Church in Wy­lie will sponsor the annual Festival of Lights Christmas Parade, set for 6 p.m. Dec. 6 on Ballard Avenue. After the pa­rade, the annual Tree Lighting Ceremony will be held in Olde City Park, 112 S. Ballard Ave. That event will include songs of the season from the Wylie High School’s Tempo choir, according to information from the city.

In Murphy, the annual Christ­mas in the Park Drive-Thru Trail of Lights will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. Dec. 4-5. at the Murphy Municipal Complex. City official encourage those who want to avoid long lines to visit the light display anytime between Dec. 6 and Christmas.

During the event, Murphy Fire Department will be col­lecting new, unwrapped toys to donate to the Children’s Advo­cacy Center of Collin County.

Pre-registration is not re­quired but highly encouraged. The city will update informa­tion on its social media as the event gets closer.

In Sachse, the Christmas Ex­travaganza has been canceled this year due to the pandem­ic, but officials are planning a drive thru light show at City Hall. The Christmas Light Spectacular begins Wednesday, Dec. 2 at 6 p.m. with thousands of lights adorning the munici­pal campus. The light show will run nightly from 6 p.m. until 9 p.m. throughout December.

For more stories like this, see the Nov. 25 issue or subscribe online.

By Don Munsch • [email protected]