Live United

Football, Christmas parade on tap over next few days

Texarkana will welcome football and Christmas over the next few days. The Twin Cities will welcome two teams from Oklahoma for this year’s Live United Bowl today at Arkansas’s High School’s Razorback Stadium.

Southwestern Oklahoma State will take on the University of Central Oklahoma with kickoff at noon.

Tickets are $10 for adults and $4 for students or children. The Live United Bowl benefits the United Way of Greater Texarkana, which in turns distributes funds to a variety of charitable and service organizations in our area.

In other words, you can have a great time for a good cause. Hard to beat that.

Come Monday there is more fun on tap—this time with a holiday flavor.

The 31st annual Texarkana Christmas Parade will begin at 7 p.m. in downtown Texarkana.

The parade, which has a “A Magical Christmas” theme, will make its way throughout downtown Texarkana. There are more than 100 entries in this year’s parade—colorful floats, marching bands, dance troops, baton twirlers, antique cars and so much more. Parade watchers will have the opportunity to donate canned food and new, unwrapped toys to help the needy this Christmas. Drop-off boxes will be available, and volunteers will walk the route collecting donations. Of course, the star of the show is Santa Claus. That jolly old elf will once again be coming to Texarkana to say hello to boys and girls of all ages.

Festivities will kick off at 4 p.m. when a holiday market with a variety of vendors opens at Front Street Festival Plaza and the Texas-side Farmers’ Market at Texas Boulevard and Third Street. Yes, the Texarkana Christmas Parade offers something for the whole family. So come out a bit early and get a good place for parade watching. And you might want to bundle up as there could be a chill in the air.

But that’s just the way it should be as Christmas comes to Texarkana.

Many people worked long and hard to organize these events for you and your family to enjoy. Community support is vital. We encourage you to attend both these events.