Sights and Sounds of Christmas

Sights and Sounds of Christmas is a guided, musical walking tour of Newark’s downtown churches with proceeds benefiting the Licking County Food Pantry Network. The event is designed to showcase the city’s historic churches while celebrating the true meaning of Christmas.

Originally conceived by the Events Committee of the Newark Alliance, Sights and Sounds of Christmas is in its twenty-first year. The event has become a tradition for many families. Although the tour involves walking, it is paced to allow the event to be intergenerational with universal appeal.

Seven downtown churches are featured on the tour: Second Presbyterian; Trinity AME; Trinity Episcopal; First Presbyterian; St. Paul’s Lutheran; First United Methodist; and St. Francis De Sales Catholic. This year, the tour will also stop at the Licking County Courthouse.

After the performance at Second Presbyterian, the event attendees separate into two groups for the tour. Two ‘lamplighters,’ dressed in red and green period costumes, lead the two tour groups along separate, luminaria-lined routes throughout the downtown. The tour groups each stop for musical performances at six other locations before reuniting for the final stop at St. Francis De Sales Catholic, where a musical performance and a cookie reception await.