(Press release)

Student Activities and the Division of Student Life will host Baylor University’s annual “Christmas on 5th Street” Thursday, Dec. 4 with a wide variety of entertainment and activities in the Bill Daniel Student Center and Burleson Quadrangle on the Baylor University Campus. All events are free and open to the public.

The holiday celebration will feature Kappa Omega Tau’s 43rd annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony and concert. The Kappa Pickers will kick off the event at 6 p.m. in Burleson Quadrangle. The Robbie Seay Band will perform at 6:15 p.m., followed by a reading of the Christmas Story and the Tree Lighting at 7:15 p.m. Walking Caleb will take the stage at 7:30 p.m., followed by Christian recording artist, Steven Curtis Chapman, who will perform from 8:45 to 10:30 p.m.

This year’s concert will benefit Shohannah’s Hope, an organization that Chapman started to help families with the financial burdens of adoption.

The Baylor Religious Hour Choir will host the Family Christmas Concert featuring the five-time GMA award-winning group Selah. BRH will open for Selah at 6:30 p.m. in Barfield Drawing Room in the SUB. Selah will take the stage at 7 p.m. Free coffee and desserts will be served.

The Christmas on 5th Street Marketplace will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m, Wednesday, Dec. 3, and from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 4. The community is invited to shop for unique, handmade items.

Marketplace vendors include:

Petrice's Handknit Accessories
Bless the Sister Designs
Suzanne & Taylor's Internationsl Jewelry and Textile Sale
KK's Homemade Creations
Turnings - one-of-a-kind wood items
WDRcrafts
Julie's Jewelry
Heart Creek Designs

Multiple family activities also will be held throughout the night, including:

Live Nativity in the front lawn of the SUB from 6 to 9 p.m.
Petting Zoo in the Vera Daniels Plaza from 6 to 9 p.m.
Carriage Rides on 5th Street until 10 p.m.
Pictures with Santa on the second floor of the sub in the Baines and Fentress rooms until 9 p.m.
Kid's Creation Station in the food court on the first floor of the SUB until 9 p.m.
Free hot cocoa, coffee, and cider