Hazard’s Monthlong Holiday Festival Returns to Boost Downtown Activity
Hazard’s annual Christmas in a Small Town celebration returns Nov. 18 with a tree lighting at the Perry County Courthouse, kicking off a month of community events designed to drive local shopping, charitable giving and downtown foot traffic. The schedule — including Pink Weekend shopping, Christmas for Charity, a community choir concert and a Dec. 20 Santa visit at the library — underscores efforts to bolster small businesses and civic institutions during the critical holiday period.
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Hazard’s Christmas in a Small Town celebration resumes this year beginning Tuesday, Nov. 18, when the Perry County Courthouse lawn will host the traditional tree lighting that opens a monthlong slate of holiday programming across the city. Organizers have scheduled a mix of retail-focused events and civic activities intended to draw residents and visitors to downtown Hazard throughout the holiday season.
Alongside the courthouse lighting, the festival calendar includes a Pink Weekend shopping event aimed at spotlighting local retailers, a Christmas for Charity drive to support area nonprofits, a community choir concert that showcases local musical groups, and a Dec. 20 visit by Santa at the Hazard Public Library. The series is structured to create recurring reasons for people to visit downtown, increasing foot traffic on multiple weekends rather than concentrating activity on a single day.
For Perry County’s merchants and service providers, the timing matters: small-town holiday programming can shape where residents choose to spend their seasonal dollars. Local retailers in Hazard are likely to see higher customer counts when events create visible activity and family-oriented offerings such as Santa visits and choir concerts. For nonprofits and the library, the festival provides both fundraising opportunities and a chance to deepen ties with patrons during a season when community giving typically rises.
Beyond immediate sales and donations, the celebration supports longer-term economic objectives pursued by local leaders: sustaining downtown vibrancy, encouraging repeat visitation from neighboring communities, and reinforcing Hazard’s role as a regional hub. In many rural counties, coordinated holiday events are part of a strategy to counteract retail leakage to larger cities and online platforms by offering experiences that cannot be replicated digitally.
Public-sector costs for decorations, lighting and permitting are generally modest relative to potential returns in sales tax receipts and local business revenue, and community events help justify municipal investment in streetscaping and public spaces. The courthouse tree lighting, in particular, reinforces the civic center as a gathering place, supporting broader placemaking goals that can have persistent economic benefits.
Residents should note the Dec. 20 Santa appearance at the library and plan for peak downtown activity on weekends tied to the Pink Weekend and Christmas for Charity dates. As Hazard ramps up its holiday season, officials and business owners will be watching whether the monthlong format sustains higher shopper turnout and strengthens community institutions after the decorations come down.
