Trifter

City Park has been a favorite local attraction of New Orleanians since its founding in 1853. Despite being a public attraction, it attains the bulk of its expenses needed to maintain all of its expansive 1300 acres through donations and user fees rather than through the state or local government. As the sixth-largest and seventh-most visited urban park in the United States, however, such expenses can be enormous. Christmas, therefore, has proved to be a season of giving back to the community, as City Park finds the largest percentage of these much-needed dollars during the holidays in the wake of a famed celebration known as Celebration in the Oaks, featuring over two-million lights enshrining the park’s many hundred-year-old oak trees.

The celebration originally began in 1984, and was named “A Tribute to the Christmas Tree.” It featured an extravagant display of lights strategically placed throughout the park and offered a drive-by tour as well as an antique train ride through this intricate display. As the years went by, more innovative and elaborate attractions and exhibits were added.

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The celebration was re-named Celebration in the Oaks in the two years following the inaugural, and 2009 marks City Park’s 25th year hosting the attraction, the 23rd under its updated name. It all begins with some of New Orleans’ grandest holiday parties.

The parties serve as preview parties, and typically occur the weekend before Thanksgiving. There is one for adults featuring local entertainers and a banquet of top-notch delights from the city’s finest restaurants (and to be ranked as a “finest” restaurant in a city like New Orleans is really saying something!), and an additional preview for the children with food, amusement rides, and unique entertainment such as face painting and performances by the local band, the Creole String Beans. In addition, many private companies host their holiday celebrations at the park’s Botanical Garden at one of their rental facilities. The setting is easily the most festive in New Orleans and includes admission to the Celebration’s walking tour.

This is only an audience warm-up, however. The actual Celebration in the Oaks event begins the day thereafter.

The fabled train ride is still a favorite way to travel up and down City Park Avenue during the season of the famed lights display. Or if you wish, you may take one of the city’s famous street cars to view the display along 1400 feet of rail. The many amusement park rides, which include a century-old antique carousel, are also a highlight among children and adults alike. Families also take great delight in the portrait attraction where such memories are cemented, with the option of an appearance from Santa Claus.