Little town of Plains has big plans for holiday season

Carly Farrell
The Americus Times-Recorder

PLAINS November 26, 2009 08:01 pm

— The little town of Plains is ringing in the holiday season in a huge way this season with three bigger-than-life events: a Christmas parade, Hands Around the Lake and a Community Sing.
Plains already has begun prepping for its events by decorating the downtown area with wreaths and lights.
But, at 6 p.m. Saturday, Plains will officially kick off the holiday season with its annual Christmas parade, which will include floats designed by several churches from Plains, the National Park Service, four retirement homes and several local business owners. Contest winners and a few well-known people also will make appearances in the parade, such as state Sen. George Hooks, D-Americus, Santa Claus and a very special guest — Louisa Craft Jornayvaz, an artist and grand marshal, who will be unveiling a new portrait she’s painted of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, who resides in Plains. Jornayvaz will present the portrait to Carter, who then will give the portrait to Plains Historic Inn & Antiques in downtown Plains.
The portrait will be displayed in the Inn’s lobby.
Jornayvaz proclaims herself as a storyteller through her art. She resides in Colorado.
The SAM Shortline train is almost booked, and should be full by Saturday, according to Peggy Smith, co-chairman of the Better Hometown Program Board for Plains and parade chair, which should bring about 400 people into the town at around 4 p.m. Smith expects around 300 people from Plains will show up also, for a total of about 700 people.
“That doesn’t sound like a lot of people, but that’s a whole lot (of people) for Plains!” Smith said.
Before the parade begins, though, visitors and townspeople will be able to browse the local downtown shops in Plains and visit Jimmy Carter’s Boyhood Farm at Archery, which is part of the National Park system. The farm will be open Saturday with some special presentations, such as a demonstration of what Christmas was like for Jimmy Carter growing up, a blacksmith at work, and door prizes and hot chocolate will be given out.
Smith is especially excited about this year’s parade.
“I really enjoy the Christmas parade because of the lights at night — they really light up the town. If someone’s never been to the parade, I would really encourage them to be there at 6 p.m. Saturday — it’s a fun time and really beautiful to see lighting of downtown,” Smith said. “Plus, Santa’s coming in on the train!”
While many towns have Christmas parades, Plains has a unique tradition all its own. Hands Around the Lake, which started between 25 and 30 years ago, is a tradition at the Plains Welcome Center in which community members come together to celebrate the holiday season. A decorated Christmas tree, with special ornaments and lights, is floated to the center of the Welcome Center’s lake while townspeople gather around the lake with lighted candles to sing Christmas carols. Once it’s dark, the tree is lighted and will be on every evening until Christmas. This year, the event is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. Typically, there are between 50 to 100 people in attendance, depending upon the weather, Smith said.
There now are around 350 ornaments people have contributed to memorialize loved ones. Each ornament is unique — each person donates one of their choosing, then it is personalized with their loved one’s name at the center, and hung on the tree. Anyone is welcome to bring their own ornament each year. This tradition began about eight years ago by Smith.
“It’s a wonderful (way) to start the holiday season,” Smith said. “The holidays are a time you really miss your loved ones the most — and it’s hard to get through the holiday season without them. So, we start the season by remembering them. It’s a really special tribute to the ones who have passed on.”
The Welcome Center also has a board with the names lighted by a spotlight as well as a book with each name listed to honor the loved ones.
Refreshments are served, and Santa Claus always makes an appearance.
Hands Around the Lake is not just for Plains residents; Smith invites everyone who’s interested to attend.
Finally, there’s a Community Sing scheduled for 7 p.m. Dec. 6 at Plains High School, sponsored by the National Park Service, Dan Ariail and A.B. Jackson Merritt.
The event brings together choirs from Plains Baptist Church, the Power of Faith Deliverance Church, St. Mark’s A.M.E. Church, Maranatha Baptist Church, Greater Cedar Springs Baptist Church and Plains United Baptist Church, as well as the Georgia Southwestern State University Chamber Singers and soloist Lillian Pickett for a night of joyful Christmas hymns and songs to get everyone in attendance into the holiday spirit.
Steve Theus, a park ranger who’s coordinating the event, said it’s a great time for Plains each year. The former Plains High School, Jimmy Carter’s alma mater, which is now part of the National Park Service, becomes an open house.
“There’s a Christmas tree on stage,” Theus said. “It’s a special night to come out and be a part of — the audience usually participates (by singing) in between the performances. It’s uplifting to be a part of. It’s a great way to kick off the Christmas season.”
The event has been taking place for about 14 years, and generally has a turn out of between 200 to 300 people.
“You never know if Jimmy Carter’s going to be there — it’s pretty exciting to see his church perform, though!” Theus said. “It’s nice to see the community come together for something so good. Plains is such a close-knit community, and it’s always so good to be together.”