Kappa Omega Tau and Place2BU To Host Annual Christmas on Fifth Street Nov. 30

by Katie Brooks, student newswriter, (254) 710-1961

Christmas on Fifth Street activities modified due to weather

Baylor's annual Christmas on Fifth Street celebration will still take place tonight from 7 to 9 p.m. indoors at the Bill Daniel Student Center.

The KOT Christmas Tree in Burleson Quadrangle will be lit as visitors arrive on campus, but all activities will be moved indoors.

Christmas festivities, including cookie decorating, pictures with Santa, ornament making and music from BRH Choir, will take place on the first floor of the BDSC.

Due to the cold weather conditions, the concert with Shane and Shane will now be held in the Barfield Drawing Room on the second floor of the BDSC. Unfortunately, the weather has forced the cancellation of the horse-drawn hay rides and the live nativity.

For more information, contact Student Activities at (254) 710-2371.

Kappa Omega Tau (KOT) and the Place2BU will host the 41st annual Christmas on Fifth Street at Baylor University from 7 to 9:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 30, on the Burleson Quadrangle.

The event is free and open to the public. Last year, more than 5,000 people attended the event, and KOT hopes for an attendance of more than 6,000 this year, Stanke said. The event typically draws a local crowd as well as people from outside of Waco.

The holiday event will feature KOT's Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony at 7 p.m. followed by live music from Christian artists Shane and Shane, Bethany Dillon and Jason Morant, said Zach Stanke, one of the KOT Christmas Tree Chairs.

"There is a great deal that goes into the event. We started booking bands in May. We do all sorts of fundraising, and we petition student senate for an allocation of the Student Life Fund. We get the tree on campus and decorate it," Stanke said.

KOT members got this year's tree from a member's ranch near Weatherford and cut it down this past Saturday, Stanke said.

The bands and a choir composed of members from Kappa Kappa Gamma will sing Christmas carols, according to Stanke. The BRH Choir also will be caroling during the event.

"Common Grounds will be serving coffee this year and we have bigger-named bands like Shane and Shane, as well as up-and-coming acts like Bethany Dillon," Stanke said.

Additional festivities include a reading of the Christmas story, a live Nativity with camels, ornament making, horse-drawn carriages and pictures with Santa. Hot chocolate, cider and cookies also will be available for the public.

Stanke said the 41-year-old Christmas Tree Lighting tradition started when some KOT members realized a need for a "spirited" campus and brought a 12-foot tree to the Quad. Soon after, people gathered to decorate it and sing Christmas carols.

"We do this event as a service to Baylor and we look forward to it every year," Stanke said.

T-shirts for the event will be sold this week in the lobbies of the Bill Daniel Student Center, Collins and Penland Residence Halls. The navy, long-sleeved shirts are $15 and will also be sold at the event.

For more information on KOT's Christmas Tree Lighting and Christmas on Fifth Street, visit www.baylor.edu/place2bu.