The City of Slidell is ringing in the holiday season with a jolly assortment of events starting on December 2, including the Bayou Jam Christmas Spectacular with Vince Vance and the Valiants, Christmas Under the Stars, and the Olde Towne Slidell Community Christmas Golf Cart Parade.
On Friday, Dec. 2, Vince Vance and the Valiants return to Heritage Park for the Bayou Jam Christmas Spectacular starting at 6 p.m. The King of Christmas will be performing all your favorite holiday songs, including his perennial hit, “All I Want for Christmas is You.” Come dressed in your favorite holiday costumes and be a part of this fun concert for the whole family. Admission is free.
Over the years, Christmas Under the Stars has become a holiday tradition for many Slidell families. Griffith Park is transformed into a winter wonderland with holiday lights and decorations and the life-size Christmas villages created by artist Lori Anselmo. You don’t want to miss the new “Nightmare Before Christmas” inspired cottage! Santa and Mrs. Claus will be in the park on Friday, Dec. 2; Saturday, Dec. 3; Friday, Dec. 9; and Saturday, Dec. 10 to visit with kids and take photos in the gazebo. Admission is free.
The third annual Olde Towne Slidell Community Christmas Golf Cart parade rolls through Olde Towne on Sunday, Dec. 4 starting at 5 p.m. The parade will be led by the Slidell Sync Lawn Chair Brigade followed by decorated golf carts and Santa and Mrs. Claus riding on an antique fire truck spreading their magical cheer to all. Check the city’s website at MySlidell.com and the “City of Slidell” Facebook page to see the parade route.
All these events are brought to you by the City of Slidell’s Commission on the Arts and the 2022 Cultural Season Sponsors, with assistance from the city’s departments of Cultural & Public Affairs, Parks & Recreation, Public Operations, Keep Slidell Beautiful and the Slidell Police Department. For more information, please call the Department of Cultural & Public Affairs at (985) 646-4375 or visit the city website and Facebook page.
Join Mayor Greg and Peggy Cromer for the 5th annual Ugly Sweater Gala on Friday, Dec. 9, 8 p.m. to midnight at the Slidell Auditorium.
Festivities include Ugly Sweater Contests, live entertainment by WITNESS, food, drinks, prizes, and more special holiday surprises.
Tickets are $35 and proceeds benefit Peggy’s Playground with the mission of adding sunshades over our playground areas in local parks. To date, over $50,000 has been raised for Peggy’s Playground, adding all-inclusive playground equipment in our parks.
Presented by Peggy’s Playground, Olde Towne Slidell Main Street and the City of Slidell.
Kick off the holiday
season with the King of Christmas! Vince Vance and the Valiants return to Heritage Park on Friday, Dec. 1 for the City of Slidell’s Bayou Jam Christmas Spectacular starting at 6 p.m. Admission is free!
“We unfortunately had to cancel the Bayou Jam Halloween Bash with Vince Vance back in October due to inclement weather. He promised that he would do a bigger and better show and I am excited to welcome Vince back to Slidell for the Bayou Jam Christmas Spectacular! ” said Slidell Mayor Greg Cromer. “I invite everyone to come on out to Heritage Park and kick-off the Christmas festivities with Vince Vance and the Valiants.”
Vince Vance and the Valiants are a country, pop, and rock ‘n’ roll group from New Orleans. This year, they are celebrating their 50th anniversary of performing. The group is known primarily for the single “All I Want for Christmas Is You”, which charted on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts on six separate occasions. In 2005, Country Music Television proclaimed “All I Want for Christmas is You” the No. 6 Merriest Video of All Time.
Performances by Vince Vance and the Valiants are never short on entertainment, with costume changes, comic skits, and a vaudeville flair that make Vance’s shows unique and highly memorable. Vance is also widely recognized for his single “I am New Orleans,” a song composed in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. He was inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame in 2010.
Concert goers are invited to bring their chairs, blankets, ice chests, picnic baskets and sweaters and jackets to the park to enjoy the free concerts. Concessions will be available.
The Bayou Jam Concert Series is produced by the City of Slidell Department of Cultural & Public Affairs with the assistance the departments of Parks & Recreation and Public Operations. These Olde Towne Slidell Main Street and Louisiana Cultural District events are sponsored by the City of Slidell’s 2022/2023 Cultural Season Sponsors, including Edge of the Lake Magazine and the Lake 94.7; Plus+ Publications; The Slidell Independent; Slidell Magazine; Slidell Savings Magazine; Slidell Memorial Hospital and Ochsner; Silver Slipper Casino; Councilman Bill and Laura Borchert; Lori’s Art Depot; Purple Armadillo Again; Lowry-Dunham, Case & Vivien Insurance Agency; P. David Carollo, Attorney At Law; CiCi’s Pizza; Mayor Greg Cromer; Old School Eats Food Truck; Roberta’s Cleaners; and Slidell Historical Antique Association.
For more information about this event, please call the Department of Cultural & Public Affairs at (985) 646-4375. For City of Slidell news and events, please visit MySlidell.com and sign up for our e-news updates, and follow us on the “City of Slidell” Facebook page.
In the event of inclement weather, please check the city’s website or Facebook page for the latest information. Cancellation decisions will be made by 1 p.m. on the day of the event.
The northbound lane of Lindberg Dr. (from Taos St. to Gause Blvd.) will be closed for construction starting Wednesday, November 9. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the lane will reopen on Monday, Dec. 19.
Access to businesses will not be obstructed. A posted detour will direct northbound traffic to Gause Blvd. via Taos St. and the WI10 Service Road. Please use caution when traveling in this area and use alternate routes if possible.
In preparation for Slidell’s Bayou Christmas, a portion of Bayou Lane (from Pennsylvania Ave. to the Heritage Park Boat Launch) that runs through Heritage Park will be closed to vehicular traffic from Thursday, Nov. 10, 2022, to Tuesday, January 3, 2023 for the installation of Christmas lights and for holiday events happening in Heritage Park.
Access to the Heritage Park Boat Launch will not be obstructed. The children’s playground area will also remain open, but parking immediately next to the playground will not be accessible. Guests should park in the shell parking lot on the corner of Bayou Lane and Pennsylvania Ave. or near the boat launch.
The Olde Towne Slidell Community Christmas Golf Cart Parade returns on Sunday, Dec. 4 and you can be a part of the fun! We are looking for decorated golf carts to be a part of the parade. There is no cost to enter the parade. See the form below for more information.
There are many great events happening in Olde Towne Slidell this weekend and several streets in Olde Towne will be closed for each event.
OLDE TOWNE SLIDELL ZOMBIE CRAWL 2022 starting at 5 p.m.
Slidell Antiques & Crafts Street Fair, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Mona Lisa and Moonpie Parade starting at 7 p.m. Slidell Antiques & Crafts Street Fair, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.Join the Slidell Art League and the City of Slidell for the opening of the Slidell Art League’s Artist of the Year exhibit, opening on Friday Nov. 4 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the George Dunbar Gallery in the Slidell Cultural Center at City Hall.
Nancy Gaines is a Slidell artist who earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from East Carolina University majoring in Ceramic Art and minoring in Printing. She continued studying at Penland School of Arts and Crafts in NC, University of Tampa in FL, and University of Texas of the Permian Basin. She has resided in Slidell since 1979, working in the oil and gas industry and later for the St. Tammany School Board all while raising twin daughters. Currently, Gaines works out of her studio, My Backyard Studio, producing pottery sold at various art venues and Green Oak Apothecary in Slidell.
“I am honored to be named the Slidell Art League Artist of the Year,” said Gaines. “As an artist, I never limit myself to one medium. We have been given stewardship of the world in which we live. I feel compelled to reach out with my mind’s eye and caress the subtle beauty of the world with the use of; clay, crayon, acrylic and oil paint, watercolor, and alcohol ink to interpret the wonders that surround us.
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