Christmas in Cabot offers free activities, food for community

From left, Nancy Cohea, Ann Gilliam and Peggy Barker stand in front of the Cabot City Hall, which is adorned with lights and holiday decor in preparation for Christmas in Cabot, which will take place Saturday.
From left, Nancy Cohea, Ann Gilliam and Peggy Barker stand in front of the Cabot City Hall, which is adorned with lights and holiday decor in preparation for Christmas in Cabot, which will take place Saturday.

— In 2008, while in Ann’s Beauty Shop discussing the lack of holiday decorations in Cabot with others, shop owner Ann Gilliam sought decorating help from Peggy Barker, a customer’s mother.

“I said, ‘Hey, will you help me decorate the city? It looks terrible,” said Gilliam, who is an alderman for the city of Cabot.

With the help of Barker and a friend of Gilliam’s, Nancy Cohea, Christmas in Cabot took off, and the tradition has taken place the first Saturday of December each year since.

Christmas in Cabot will be from 5-9 p.m. Saturday in the courtyard of the Cabot City Hall, 101 N. Second St. The free event includes hayrides, photo opportunities with Santa, a Christmas-tree lighting, music, prizes, a giveaway of 20 Christmas-dinner food baskets and more. Food and drinks, including hot dogs, hot chocolate, coffee and lemonade, will also be available at no cost.

“It’s just a feeling of community. It just feels good,” said Cohea, who volunteers as the treasurer for Christmas in Cabot. “Everybody’s talking [to each other]. It’s just a feel-good thing.”

Cohea said Christmas in Cabot began with $1,000, and she baked 450 cookies for the event’s first year. Now event organizers receive $10,000 from the Cabot Advertising and Promotion Commission to put on the event. The commission funds tourism-related community projects.

“This is not a small thing,” Cohea said. “Last year, we bought 1,800 hot dogs, and we had 10 hot dogs left over.”

Gilliam said the event has grown so large that volunteers are needed.

“We have different things every year,” Gilliam said. “We made the cookies and hot chocolate and apple cider and served it ourselves [that first year]. Now, we have a lot of people who help us. The Tea Club and Honor Society from the high school helps us do that.”

Barker said her favorite part of Christmas in Cabot is the giveaway of food baskets.

“We give away 20 of those to people we feel like really need them,” she said. “If we see somebody who looks like they really need it, we just give them one. We feel like we are helping the community by doing this.”

City Hall is also decorated in preparation for the event and the holiday season.

“It’s something that the whole town can enjoy,” Barker said. “They always comment on how pretty City Hall looks, and that makes us feel good. It’s just the joy that we get out of giving people joy.”

Cohea said it’s important that the event is free for attendees. For pictures with Santa Claus, families must simply bring their own cameras, and rides are free to those who are willing to stand in line, she added.

“We don’t monitor it; we don’t restrict it,” she said.

Gilliam said making the event free ensures that more members of the community will attend.

“The first year, a little girl looked at me and said, ‘My mom’s cold, and she’d like a cup of coffee, but she doesn’t have any money,’” Gilliam said. “I told her it’s free and handed her a cup. I’ll never forget the look on her face.”

At this year’s Christmas in Cabot, prizes such as bicycles, games, gaming systems and gift cards will be given away to children.

“Usually, there are about 10 prizes, but I think this year’s going to have a little bit more,” Cohea said.

Cohea said she, Barker and Gilliam are all grandmothers and love children, which is why the event caters to children. Cohea also said the holiday season is one of her favorites.

“I love Christmas. It’s the best time of year,” she said. “We decorate City Hall. It’s just a feeling of love. I just enjoy Christmas, so that’s what keeps me going.”

Gilliam has lived in Cabot her entire life and said she doesn’t think the city had a communitywide holiday before Christmas in Cabot began in 2008.

“I think it’s important to keep our people in the city,” she said. “Our schools are so spread out. It’s important to help those people. I’ve always been a giver. I think it’s good to help people. I’m the baby of 16, so I know a little bit about not having a lot.”

Gilliam said she encourages the community to attend Christmas in Cabot and be prepared to wait in line for activities.

“It really is just nice,” Cohea said of the event. “It’s nice to be able to go and enjoy yourself and not be able to worry about, ‘Can I afford it?’ It’s just a good feeling. We feel good that we’re able to do this for the people of Cabot. It’s just the feeling of giving, and this is our way of giving back to our community.”

Staff writer Syd Hayman can be reached at (501) 244-4307 or shayman@arkansasonline.com.

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