• The Franklin Township Historical Society’s free Old Fashioned Christmas will take place at 6:00 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 11 at the Historical Society’s 151-year-old building at 6510 S. Franklin Rd. The hour-long event will include Christmas stories, holiday histories, candle luminaria, music from an antique pump organ, carols, cookies & punch, and more. Please park at the south end of The Creek’s paved lot next door, as that church has given permission for that and the historical society would like to keep its own small lot available for those for whom walking is difficult.
• Congratulations to Boy Scout Troop 9 for selling out their trees in record time! Traditionally, the Boy Scouts set up the day after Thanksgiving in the playground at United Methodist Church in Irvington. The proceeds of the sale go to send the kids to summer camp and maintain camping gear for their outdoor programs. The kids also do a lot for the community, participating in community clean-ups and much more.
• Cumberland will hold its annual Weihnachtmarkt on Saturday, Dec. 3 from 11 a.m.-10 p.m. This is the 11th year for the market, which will be held on U.S. 40 between Muessing to Carroll Rd. U.S. 40 will be closed all day. Santa will arrive at the Gap Meeting House at noon to visit with kids, plus there will be lots of vendors, food trucks, a tree lighting ceremony at 6 p.m., and lots of entertainment for everyone throughout the day. Everything will be held on the Civic Plaza at 57th and Post Rd.
• Greenfield will host its annual Christmas Parade on Saturday, Dec. 3 at 5:30 p.m. The parade begins at the American Legion Annex, then west on Main St. and south on Pennsylvania and ends at Depot St. Park. The floats are brightly lit and are really beautiful.
• Winterfest at Lawrence is open Friday evenings through Sundays until Christmas with music, a skating rink (with free lessons if needed), music, plays, and lots more. Go to visitlawrenceindiana.com for more information and a detailed schedule.
• Garfield Park will hold Winter Art Markets on Friday, Dec. 2 from 6-9 p.m. and Saturday, Dec. 17 from 2-4 p.m. at the Art Center. The markets will feature handcrafted items and live music. They will also host a Holidays Around the World market on Saturday, Dec. 10 from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. with arts and crafts, music, performances, and more. The park is located at 2432 Conservatory Dr. on the southeast side.
• Indianapolis Public Library is holding a series of holiday concerts throughout December, including a show on Monday, Dec. 5 at 6 p.m. at the Warren Branch, 9701 E. 21st St. Visit the library’s Web site, www.indypl.org for a full listing of performances.
• Scecina Memorial High School presents its Winter Concert, a Very Merry Christmas, featuring its advanced choir, beginning choir, and band, on Monday, Dec. 5 at 6 p.m. The show will be held in the school gym, 5000 Nowland Ave. and it is free and open to the public.
• It’s that time of year when people are shipping gifts and looking for cushioning materials for their parcels. We’d really appreciate it if readers would come by the office and pick up our old papers for that purpose. When we downsized our office, we discovered we have very little room for returned papers. While we don’t get many papers back, we have several stacks. We also donate our old papers to animal care organizations locally.