Lonato Christmas Events Include Shop Windows, Parades, and Markets
“Vote for the Shop Window,” “Santa Lucia Parade,” and “Christmas in the Historic Center.” These are the three initiatives that will animate Lonato in December. They arose after a series of meetings between the local merchants and the Deputy Mayor for Commerce Paolo Marcoli.
All are sponsored by the Municipality. But let’s go in order. On December 5th at 2:00 PM, the participation deadline for the second edition of the Vote for the Shop Window contest will close, reserved for all retail store owners, both fixed location retailers and hairdressers.
Among all entrants, the shop window that receives the most approval from the public (collected through special coupons) will be awarded a trophy, and three numbers distributed by shopkeepers will be randomly drawn, each corresponding to gift vouchers. The first edition was won by “Euforia Moda” for the originality of its shop window display.
Christmas Events and Entertainment
On December 13th, for the delight of children, there will be a parade featuring musical entertainment, starting from the retirement home at 2:30 PM. For this occasion, Corso Garibaldi will be cleared of auto traffic for a couple of hours.
The procession, which will distribute candies and sweets along its route, will end at 4:00 PM at the Paolo VI youth center. Here, in the cinema Italia hall, a performance will be hosted by the parish.
Christmas Shopping and Traditions
On December 23rd, shops throughout the historic center will be open all day for last-minute Christmas shopping. Traffic will be fully restricted from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM. Five refreshment points, scattered between Piazza Martiri, via Tarello, via Gerardi, and corso Garibaldi, will offer tastings of chestnuts, mulled wine, and panettone.
Entertainment will be provided by choirs from Maguzzano, Arcangelo from Lonato, and the basilica, as well as clowns, fire-eaters, stilt walkers, and bagpipers.
In a corner of via Gerardi, a small living Nativity scene will be set up. But that’s not all. Piazza Martiri, Lonato’s “living room,” will host an exhibition of old agricultural equipment belonging to private owners; the Exodus association, based in Sedena, will bring horses, and under the town hall archway, a group of watercolor artists will be at work surrounded by antique furniture.
Additionally, the Savioran missionary group will set up a fundraising table to support the less fortunate populations of Africa and South America.
In the evening, at 9:00 PM, at the cinema Italia, closing this special day, there will be a Christmas concert offered by the Lonato Musical Band, directed by Carlo Righetti.
Decorations and Acknowledgments
“The Municipality will set up the usual —” explains Marcoli, “the lighting decorations for the town at its own expense, from the first days of December until the end of the Saint Anthony’s Fair. I want to thank all the merchants who made it possible to organize this challenging lineup of initiatives, which I hope will be received with enthusiasm by the people.”
For the Vote for the Shop Window contest, registrations are collected at the Trade Office from Monday to Saturday, or you can call 030/91392225.
