We pulled into San Marcos last Friday just to spend the night on the way to San Antonio and to enjoy an evening at their annual Sights and Sounds of Christmas Festival. We were quite impressed with the size of the event when considering their population is less than 70,000. It was beautifully lit, well-planned, and well-attended. We were also very encouraged by how the San Marcos law enforcement interacted with the public and brought joy to those around them. As a matter of fact, the police chief was actually one of the two hosts on the main stage and hung out with the little kids, hosting a number of friendly competitions with free hot cocoa for prizes, sing-a-longs, etc... It was simply delightful to see how this city fosters a positive relationship between law enforcement and the community, starting with the youngest citizens!
We arrived just as a unique music artist finished his time on the main stage. He was an interesting character, sporting makeup and strange twists on old songs. Can't say we were disappointed to only hear two of his songs.
Next up was several San Marcos school choirs, starting with elementary and then moving up to high-school. The high-schoolers were interrupted by a very grouchy grinch who challenged them to spread Christmas cheer even to him. After a hearty version of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, everyone was smiling and laughing...even the grinch.
The final choir song of the night was Silent Night, featuring all the lights being shut off and everyone's phone lights in the air. Since Sammy's birthday is in December, he got to help operate the master light switch!
We were surprised at how many faith-based Christmas songs the choirs sang. They did sing a couple of secular classics, but most of them were songs such as Silent Night, Away in a Manger, O Little Town of Bethlehem, etc... Additionally, one of the children's trivia questions from the Police Chief was "Do we celebrate a special birthday at Christmas time?" And after the kids answered, the he expanded on their 'yes' and talked about the nativity story. It was incredible, after coming from liberal Twin Cities, MN where reference to Jesus at Christmas outside of the Christian circle is a rare treat. In addition, at least in my Dad's suburban school district, break at Christmas is now called "Winter Break" rather than Christmas break because there can be no reference to the Christian holiday. And faith-based songs are no longer a part of the kids' choir and band performances. So we were encouraged by this community that unapologetically remembers and promotes the real reason for the season!
In a strange turn of events, I actually ended up singing O Holy Night on the main stage in between the choir and a school band. I'm not usually one to just get up in front of a bunch of strangers to sing. My favorite place to sing is (no, not in the shower) in the backyard when none of my family is home and neighor's windows are closed (singing for an audience of One). But when there was a delay between performances and the police chief asked if there was anyone in the audience who could sing, I somehow managed to get the courage to go up front. I didn't end up singing during that delay as the other host led the audience in singing Feliz Navidad, but during the next transition the chief introduced me and let me sing. It didn't go perfectly, as I hadn't actually sang this song since last Christmas and didn't know what key to start it, but overall I felt like it went okay. Warning: I have actually been debating for several days whether or not to post the video as the recording quality is horrible - especially if you listen to it without headphones. Mom's phone doesn't record audio very well. If you plan to listen, I would definitely recommend against using your phone and that you use headphones. Otherwise, it won't sound so hot LOL!
(The chief, who apparently didn't have very high-expectations for me, actually ended up 'interviewing' me after I sang because he needed to know more about me and how I learned to sing. He was quite surprised to hear that I haven't taken voice lessons or anything. Just church and choir. It was quite amusing, LOL)
After enjoying music on the main stage for awhile, we headed out to explore the festival grounds and lights. Definitely plenty of photo ops :)
The festival also featured a small, walk-through village of Bethlehem guided on either side by some very smiley angels. :)
On our walk back to the RV, we snagged a bike-pulled cart just for old-times sake. Some of you already know the story, but during our time in Boston back in 2021 we piled all 8 of us onto a bike-cart built for 2. The muscular and good-natured driver received several jabs by his fellow bikers who thought he should have left some of us for them to take, LOL. The cart that this gentleman was pulling on Friday was built for 6 - so not as much of a tight squeeze for the D-Team. Plus, he had an electric-bike to help. It was fun to ride down the road between his glow-sticks and jive along with his Christmas music. A great way to end an enjoyable night.
Our time in San Marcos and their festival was pleasant and a little amusing. We were walking around under Christmas lights, listening to songs about 'winter wonderlands'... with delightful weather and no snow in sight. Folks were in shorts and sandals! For those of us from Minnesota, where almost every Christmas is a 'white Christmas,' it was (and still is), quite honestly, a little hard to get into the Christmas spirit while walking around in t-shirts and 70 degree weather.
Anyway, stay tuned for a special story about Maleah coming up next :)
Until next time, God bless!
Beautiful