May 28, 2023 Local Stories in and Around St. Joseph, Illinois

Winter Wassail to take place tonight in St. Joseph

A holiday wonderland is coming to St. Joseph tonight.

The St. Joseph Church of Christ is holding its second Winter Wassail event, tonight from 4 to 9 p.m.

Senior Pastor Kyle Arnold said this year’s event will be a full event, unlike last year which was a drive-thru event due to COVID-19 restrictions.

This year, tickets can be purchased at a white tent on Main Street for $2 per person, Arnold said.

Every hour there will be massive light display including trees wrapped in lights, buildings outlined with lights, candy cane arches, and wreathes.

“We are talking about $5,000 worth of Christmas lights,” Arnold said. “So families will be able to walk around Sherman Street, which will be closed off, enjoy the light displays, have some homemade cookies and wassail, and take in the other events.”

The other events include a Christmas Tree decoration competition and kids’ activities. If kids complete 10 activities they will receive a small gift bag at the end of the event.

In addition, the church has a Santa with sleigh that will be at the event.

Arnold said tickets to visit Santa are sold out but he will still be at the event and children can drop off letters to Santa. Santa will respond within the next few weeks.

Award-winning a capella group “No Strings Attached” will be performing 4-5 songs every hour, flash mob style.


“It’s hard to pick a favorite part, but I know that I personally can’t wait for No Strings Attached to perform,” Arnold said. “They will all be wearing ugly Christmas sweaters and interacting with the crowds between songs. They are very skilled and it’s going to be so much fun.”

The last 15 minutes of every hour, Santa will be reading a Christmas story from scripture and there will be hay bales to families and kids to sit on while listening to the stories.

All activities repeat on the hour, so tickets to the event are sold by the hour, Arnold said.

Arnold said the church loves to hold the event for the community.

“I think it’s great for our community to have events like this to encourage celebrating during the Christmas season,” Arnold said. “The Holiday’s are more stressful than most people want to admit, and by having an affordable family experience, we can help families create lasting memories together. It starts the month off right.”

Arnold said the event also helps bring the community back to the real reason for the holiday.

“As a church, we of course celebrate the greatest gift ever given through the birth of Jesus,” he said. “That’s the most important thing to us. But even for those that believe differently than us we can all agree that Christmas is ultimately about relationships. Everything has become so commercialized in our culture, that sometimes it’s good to just get back to the basics and help everybody remember what makes Christmas special. For those that just want to spend quality time with their families and create memories, events like this give them that opportunity. For those that are Christians, events like this give them the chance to celebrate their faith with the greater community.”

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