Downtown Fayette will kick off the holiday season with the annual Festival of Lights and Christmas Parade on Saturday, Dec. 6.

Activities begin at 10 a.m. and continue into the evening. Local shops will offer holiday specials from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., alongside the Annual Country Christmas Vendor Fair, held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 108 N. Main Street, the former Miknan’s restaurant building.

The Kids Market will operate from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the east side of the square at 116 East Morrison Street. Young entrepreneurs will have a variety of homemade items and gifts just in time for Christmas.

The annual Holiday Homes Tour, sponsored by the Friends of Historic Fayette Memorial Pool, will run from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday and will continue Sunday, Dec. 7, from 1 to 5 p.m. The tour features four historic properties. Admission is $20 for visitors ages 10 and older and includes access to all homes. Tickets are available at all three Fayette banks, the Uriel S. Wright Building, or at the homes on the days of the tour.

Featured sites include the Jarboe Home at 600 N. Church St., a Victorian-style residence built around 1872 by Thomas and Portia Owings; the Alfred Morrison/Lilac Hill Home at 163 Highway 5, a Federal/Early Classical Revival house built circa 1832 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places; the Schnell Home at 300 Besgrove St., a circa-1940 Sears Vallonia bungalow; and the Dr. Uriel S. Wright Building at 120 N. Church St., a Federal-style brick structure built between 1828 and 1832 for use as a medical office.

Families can visit The Attic from 2 to 4 p.m. for pictures with Santa and to enjoy Christmas carolers. Santa will not meet with children after the parade this year.

A hot cocoa competition, hosted by the Fayette Chamber, will be held from 3 to 4 p.m.

Santa’s Workshop, featuring kids’ Christmas crafts, is planned from 3 to 5 p.m., with organizers still finalizing the exact location. Free chili dogs, provided by the Fayette Ministerial Alliance, will be served from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. at the corner of North Main and East Morrison streets, across from Crigler Corner.

The Lighted Christmas Parade will step off at 5:30 p.m. through downtown Fayette, followed by s’mores at Mac’s on South Main Street at 6 p.m.

Those interested in entering the parade may sign up through an online form linked from the Festival of Lights event page on Facebook, where up-to-date information about the day’s activities will be posted.

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