Carriage rides, a parade and a chance to meet Santa are some of the events featured at Christmas in the Heart of Charleston from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday on the Square.

At the festival, people will be able to view the lights and decorations on the Square and visit the shops which will stay open later for the event.

“I’m doing my windows. I did one with Santas and snowmen and just try to get the store set up for the weekend,” Sara Gennings, who works at Twice Is Nice Cont., said. “I’m going to try to get it nice and straighten it up.”

There will be live window displays in certain store windows as well as a live nativity scene. Also, the Knights of Columbus will roast chestnuts. Will Rogers Theater will show the movie Jack Frost for free at 4 and 8 p.m. The CAT theater will perform the play “St. George and the Dragon.”

“It’s a great way to start off the Christmas season and kind of gets you in the spirit,” Therese Kinkade, co-owner along with her husband of What’s Cookin,’ said.

Church choirs and the fifth and sixth grade classes from Jefferson school will sing in the courthouse.

“The acoustics are wonderful. It’s really an experience to hear them sing in the courthouse,” Bob Kinkade, who is on the committee for the festival, said.

Different costumed characters such as the Grinch and Winnie-the-Pooh will be at the festival. A gingerbread house contest will take place, with judging in the following categories: children, adult and overall.

At Teen Reach, children can meet Santa and have their pictures taken with him for free. While children are waiting to see Santa, they can color or watch a Christmas movie.

“It offers the whole community a chance to get out and feel the unity of the town,” Bridget Johnson, program director of Teen Reach, said. “It continues to show them (the Teen Reach teenagers who participate) community service and how to serve their community.”

Many college students also play an active role in the festival.

“We’ve got a lot of help from Eastern’s students, which we really appreciate, and it would be very difficult to do it without their help,” Kinkade said.

This festival has been held for five years. The committee is a private group that operates through tourism funds. It has worked actively on this year’s Christmas festival for the past couple of months, Kinkade said.

“It’s a unique festival,” he said. “It’s a chance for students to mingle with the community and see what they do. We really welcome EIU students to come down for this.”