Christmas Traditions to Return at West Texas A&M University

Copy by Chip Chandler, 806-651-2124, cchandler@wtamu.edu

CANYON, Texas — The West Texas A&M University campus will be atwinkle with the return of beloved Christmas events in December.

The community is invited to attend the Festival of Lights at 6 p.m. Dec. 3 around the Buffalo Fountain on the Charles K. and Barbara Kerr Vaughan Pedestrian Mall in the heart of the WT campus.

The highlight of the Festival of Lights is the official lighting of the WT campus. Almost 200,000 bulbs are strung around campus, a 150 percent increase over the past four years.

Trees and shrubbery all around campus—including the towering American elms along 26th Avenue, the Freedom Tree, the Staff Memorial Tree, and the greenery around the Pedestrian Mall—will be illuminated.

Color-changing uplights have been added to the Pedestrian Mall and the north side of Old Main, and color-changing Edison bulbs have been strung around the “Original Texans” buffalo sculpture and fountain.

Lit buildings will include Old Main, the JBK, the Sybil B. Harrington Fine Arts Complex, Buffalo Courts, the Killgore Research Center, Cornette Library, the Engineering and Computer Sciences Building, the Physical Plant and the President’s Home. Illuminated wreaths will be hung at the 23rd Street entrance to campus, the Old Main driveway and the First United Bank Center entrance.

The WT Chamber Singers will perform holiday music, then lead a singalong at the end of the festivities. Speakers will include President Walter V. Wendler; Canyon Mayor Gary Hinders; WT Student Body President Mary Vivian Ivey, a junior agricultural media and communication major from Fort Smith, Arkansas; and Jazmyn McKeel, president of the Residence Hall Association and a senior music therapy major from Allen.

Santa Claus will arrive via a Canyon Fire Department firetruck and will be available for family photos.

Bucky will hand out red and green glow necklaces, and the WT Pom Squad will perform. Cookies, hot chocolate and cider will be served, and the classic cartoon “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” will be screened outside of Old Main.

Participating student organizations include Hispanic Student Association, the WT Men’s Volleyball Club, Twisted Two Step, KWTS, the Darlings of WT, the Criminal Justice Association and Zeta Tau Alpha.

Festival of Lights is the kickoff to a busy weekend of holiday activities in Canyon.

The WT Chamber Singers will offer a Christmas concert at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 2 in Mary Moody Northen Recital Hall on WT’s Canyon campus. Admission is free.

Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum’s Christmas Open House will run 1 to 3 p.m. Dec. 6 on the museum’s east lawn. The event will include music from children’s choirs, holiday crafts and more. Admission is one can of food or $1 per person to benefit High Plains Food Bank.

Canyon Chamber of Commerce’s Christmas in Canyon events will kick off at noon Dec. 6, including the Parade of Lights at 6:30 p.m. around the downtown square, followed by the lighting of the Canyon Christmas tree.

Performances of the WT Symphony Orchestra’s “Music of the Christmas Season” are set for 4 and 7 p.m. Dec. 7 in the Mary Moody Northen Recital Hall on WT’s Canyon campus. Tickets for the perennially popular event’s 4 p.m. performance are sold out, but limited tickets remain for the 7 p.m. concert at cur8.com/22281/project/133318.

The concert will be broadcast at 7 p.m. Dec. 23 and 9 p.m. Dec. 24 on Panhandle PBS. Following that, the concert can be viewed on the WT School of Music’s YouTube page.

Festival of Lights began in 1990 and, other than 2020, has been held annually as the Residence Hall Association’s longest-running tradition.

WT’s relationship to the community is a critical maxim of the University’s long-range plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World.

That plan is fueled by the historic One West comprehensive fundraising campaign, which reached its initial $125 million goal 18 months after publicly launching in September 2021. The campaign has raised more than $175 million and will continue through 2025.

About West Texas A&M University

A Regional Research University, West Texas A&M University is redefining excellence in Canyon, Texas, on a 342-acre residential campus, as well as the Harrington Academic Hall WTAMU Amarillo Center in downtown Amarillo. Established in 1910, the University has been part of The Texas A&M University System since 1990. WT boasts an enrollment of more than 9,000 and offers 66 undergraduate degree programs, including eight associate degrees; and 44 graduate degrees, including an integrated bachelor’s and master’s degree, a specialist degree and two doctoral degrees. WT recently earned a Carnegie Foundation classification as a Research College and University. The University also is home to the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, the largest history museum in the state and the home of one of the Southwest’s finest art collections. The Buffaloes are a member of the NCAA Division II Lone Star Conference and offers 16 men’s and women’s athletics programs.

—WT—