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Charleston will be making spirits bright from 4:45 to 6 p.m. Saturday with the annual “Christmas in the Heart of Charleston” celebration on the square.

Free food, music and visits with Santa Claus and a reindeer from Southern Illinois will be open to the public. Some stores on the square will be participating in the event, offering special deals and activities.

Diane Ratliff, tourism and special events adviser for the parks and recreation department, said the festival has been going on for nearly 25 years and is a way of bringing people in the community together.

The Christmas committee of about 10 members will be hosting a light parade and will switch on a Christmas tree’s lights around 5 p.m., Ratliff said.

Anyone can enter to be in the parade, and the winner for brightest entry will have his or her name recognized and added to the plaque at Charleston City Hall, Ratliff said.

Tours of the tunnel connecting the jail to the Coles County Courthouse will be available, along with musical entertainment from community members, which will also take place at the courthouse.

The musical entertainment will be provided by a saxophone quartet, the Jefferson Middle School Chorus and the Charleston High School Chorus and Band.

Lisa Judd, from Bob’s Bookstore located on the square, said a Christmas story will be read at the store from 5:30 to 6 p.m.

She said crafts and activities will also be set out on tables for children to participate in throughout the night.

Experimental music is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Bob’s Bookstore to wrap up the festivities.

A pair of dulcimer players will also play Christmas music at 7 p.m. after Christmas in the Heart of Charleston.

A dulcimer is a plucked stringed instrument, known for being played by Scottish or Irish immigrants in the Appalachian region of the United States in the early 19th century.

Dan Reible, owner of Jackson Avenue Coffee, said this celebration is the busiest night of the year for the coffee shop and other stores in the square.

Ratliff said she is making a map for the event, which will be posted on the Facebook page for Christmas in the Heart of Charleston.

Many businesses in Charleston have helped fund this event, such as Credit Union 1, which is sponsoring the reindeer, and First Federal Savings and Loans, sponsoring the decorations and lights.

Kennedy Nolen can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].