Columbia Falls lights up next Friday

This year's 24th annual Night of Lights celebration will pay tribute to the centennial of Glacier National Park and the year it was founded, organizers say.

"The parade will have a 1910 flair, as a nod to our neighbor, Glacier Park," said spokeswoman Peggy Newman.

Billy Bowman, the iconic Glacier mountain goat, will appear in costume. Children accompanying Santa will dress in Park Ranger uniforms. And an Eagle Transit shuttle bus from the park will be among the vehicles that travel the parade route, she said.

The parade begins at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 4 near the U.S. Post Office, after the lighting of the community Christmas tree at Glacier Discovery Square, and ends near Old City Hall.

Even with the centennial, the Night of Lights will remain primarily a way to celebrate Christmas, said parade organizer Jennifer Krueger.

"It's a tradition, a Christmas celebration," Krueger said, "a time when you see people you don't see very often the rest of the year."

Parade entries will be judged beforehand in several categories — Business, Open, Juvenile, and Four-legged.

Several businesses at the end of the parade route will be open afterward, including Montana Coffee Traders and the Shops at Station 8.

Santa and Mrs. Santa will arrive at the end of the parade.

Craft fairs will open at Glacier Discovery at 5 p.m. Friday until closing, and on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and at the North Valley Senior Citizens Center on Saturday from noon til 8 p.m.

The Senior Citizens Center will also host a soup supper from 4 to 8 p.m., and conduct a raffle for a handmade quilt. Raffle tickets are $1 each or six for $5.

Individuals and groups interested in joining the parade can submit their application form as late as 5 p.m. the night of the parade.

Parade entry application forms are available at four locations:

NAPA Auto Parts, 1750 U.S. Highway 2 W., 892-4345

Glacier Bank, 822 Nucleus Ave., 892-7100

Roger Newman, DDS, 160 Nucleus Ave., 892-2085

Moving Image, 235 Nucleus Ave., 892-7546

For more information about the parade, call Jennifer Krueger at 892-2480.

For more information about activities at the Senior Citizens Center, call Roxy at 892-4087.