The Big Little Rock Holiday Parade starts at 3 p.m. Dec. 6. It’s the first half of the festive doubleheader that wraps up with the evening’s Arkansas State Capitol Lighting Ceremony.
“Candy Cane Christmas” is the theme of the annual parade beginning at Broadway and West Markham streets. Its decorated floats, marching groups, horseback riders and other participants head east on Markham and finish in the River Market District near Interstate 30.
From 3-5:30 p.m. Dec. 6, families can visit Santa Claus at the Statehouse Convention Center, 101 E. Markham St., and take their photos with the bearded purveyor of Christmas gifts.
The 47th annual Arkansas Craft Guild Christmas Showcase is also happening. Hours are 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Dec. 5 and Dec. 6, and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Dec. 7. For sale will be a variety of crafts made by members.
The North Little Rock Elks Christmas Parade is scheduled to start at 2 p.m. Dec. 14. It will travel along Main Street from 22nd Street to Washington Street.
Shining state tradition endures
Fireworks bursting above the freshly lighted Arkansas State Capitol on Dec. 6 will celebrate the Christmas season. This joyous tradition began modestly 87 years ago, when strips of red and blue lights were hung from the domed landmark’s cupola.
Now the Arkansas State Capitol Lighting Ceremony is a grand event drawing a rapt audience the first Saturday each December to marvel at the Capitol’s dazzling display of lights. That colorful scene is followed by the fireworks, which can rival the state’s best Independence Day pyrotechnics.
Legacy of light
A heartwarming act of kindness in 1938 by then Secretary of State Claris “Crip” Hall inaugurated the yearly event, as explained by Samantha Boyd, director of communications for Secretary of State Cole Jester’s office.
“Crip Hall wanted to do something special for the patients at Arkansas Children’s Hospital, which sits south of the Capitol,” Boyd says. “He had suffered from polio as a boy and understood what the children were undergoing as they faced life-threatening diseases. So, he wanted to lift their spirits during the holiday season with the display of lights.
“In step with Secretary Hall’s example, we continue this tradition of keeping love, kindness and compassion in our hearts. When we light the Capitol, the children across the way can partake of the fun as they gather around the windows to watch.”
In 1941, the Capitol illumination took place on Dec. 10, just three days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. In proceeding with the ceremony amid wide public anxiety, Hall explained that “in such unusual times, the people of Arkansas need to have a little reassuring normalness,” as reported by David Ware, now the state historian and Arkansas State Archives director.
With combat raging in December 1942, the Capitol lighting was more subdued. The Nativity scene featured nontraditional figures that included a soldier, a sailor, a Marine and a Red Cross nurse standing guard over the Holy Family.
As global conflict continued in 1943, the Capitol’s exterior went unlighted. A 16-foot fir sent by Arizona’s governor was set up in the rotunda. The traditions were restored in December 1945, once the war ended. That set the stage for the celebrations in the decades ahead.
The late Jennings Osborne, a Little Rock businessman and philanthropist, installed one of his spectacular light shows at the Capitol from 1995 to 2002. He bedecked the building for the holidays with “what seemed like millions of white lights,” according to Ware. “The dome lights were in constant motion, gaining the nickname ‘Disco Dome.’ It was said to be especially enjoyed by the patients at Arkansas Children’s Hospital.”
Still shining bright
One 21st-century change in the State Capitol’s holiday practice is the use of an artificial tree rather than a live evergreen in the rotunda. The faux tree, standing 25 feet high, is decorated by members of the Secretary of State’s staff.
“It’s a very special time for the dozen or so people who do the decorating,” Boyd says. “It’s also a lot of hard work. There are nearly 7,000 lights on the tree alone, along with more than 500 ornaments and more than 600 feet of garland. It takes three to five days to get all the decorating done, including the putting up of 77,487 lights on the Capitol’s exterior. That’s the exact number, an awesome total.”
The Dec. 6 lighting ceremony is set to begin at 5:30 p.m. outside the State Capitol, with Jester and a representative of Easter Seals flipping a large switch. The event’s mistress of ceremonies will be Daniela Dehaghani, multimedia journalist at Little Rock’s KATV Channel 7. The musical performer will be singer Hannah Banks, an attorney in Jester’s office.
Following the fireworks, visitors can come inside the Capitol to admire the Christmas decorations, see Santa Claus in his workshop, view the first-floor exhibit gallery on the history of Santa Claus or watch wood carving by Charlie Huie. The 2025 Capitol Christmas ornament will be for sale in the gift shop.
Through the end of December, the building will be open for extended hours: 7 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Friday and
10 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturday. Some 180 school choirs from across the state will perform during the two-week “Sounds of the Season” program of carols and other holiday songs.
The glow of goodwill
Visitors entering through the building’s bronze doors will pass under a lighted word posted in 1986 by Secretary of State Bill McCuen to mark the 45th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack. In bold capital letters, it spells “PEACE.”
That gentle word, says Boyd, “illuminates our State Capitol during the holidays to remind us of the precious goal we all share for peace in the world and love to our neighbors.”