Owensboro’s enduring Christmas traditions
As the long, hot days of summer fade into fall, and fall meanders toward the chill of winter, memories of holiday seasons past begin to stir. Few seasons evoke such deep nostalgia as Christmastime, when the first holly and lights appear and Owensboro comes alive with familiar traditions that have stood the test of time.
Like any community, Owensboro has cultivated its own beloved ways to celebrate the season, with many of the hallmark events tracing their roots to humble beginnings decades ago. Generations of Owensboroans carry fond childhood memories of chilly Saturday afternoons spent downtown watching the Christmas Parade, strolling around the glowing displays at Legion park, or taking school trips to the RiverPark Center to see Owensboro Dance Theatre’s The Nutcracker.
In this issue of Owensboro Living, we’re taking a look back at some of the community’s most iconic and enduring holiday traditions — the events that continue to bring Owensboro together year after year.
Owensboro’s first Santa
Every Christmas tradition has its origin story — and for Owensboro, that story begins with a man named Albert “Brownie” Woodward, believed to be the city’s very first Santa Claus.
Woodward first donned the red suit in 1916, when he was just 30 years old. Each December, he would make his way downtown — the retail heart of Owensboro in the first half of the 20th century — greeting shoppers, handing out candy, and listening to the Christmas wishes of wide-eyed children. By the time the inaugural Owensboro-Daviess County Christmas Parade was held in 1937, Woodward was already a seasoned professional. He joined the parade that year, spreading joy to crowds along the route.
Woodward, who had spent time as a minor-league baseball player and carnival performer, was a man of many talents. But according to his grandson, Robert Fortner, playing Santa may have been Woodward’s favorite role.
“It meant the world to him to take on the role of Santa and bring the magic of Christmas alive for kids,” Fortner said. “I can remember being a kid in the early 1960s, and mom would take us downtown to do the Christmas shopping. He would be down there as Santa greeting kids. It meant so much to him.”
Playing the part of Santa wasn’t only confined to downtown shops and the annual parade.
“Every year at our family Christmas party at my aunt’s home, he would come in as Santa,” Fortner said. “He would really be in character, hand out the gifts and everything. He would rather be Santa than grandad, because he knew how much joy it would bring his grandkids.”
Woodward continued portraying Santa through the 1960s, later moving his appearances to Wesleyan Park Plaza as downtown retail shifted eastward. Even then, children lined up to see him at Value Village. When Woodward passed away in 1976 at age 90, his funeral began with an organ rendition of “O Come, All Ye Faithful,” a fitting tribute to the man who made the magic of Christmas come alive for generations of Owensboroans.
The Owensboro-Daviess County Christmas Parade
One week after President Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaimed Nov. 25, 1937, as a national day of thanksgiving, Owensboro held its first-ever Christmas parade downtown, featuring floats, animals, music, and, of course, an appearance from Santa. The parade was born out of an idea by downtown retailers in hopes to spur sales and kick off a successful holiday shopping season.
“The original idea was to get people downtown and in the shops and stores,” said long-time parade volunteer Jane Head.
Head’s connection to the parade goes back more than 40 years, when she was working for local radio stations WVJS/WSTO. As part of an assignment for the station, she was sent to cover meetings of the Owensboro-Daviess County Christmas Parade board of volunteers in the early 1980s.
“I didn’t know it then, but I was creating a connection with the board members that would have a huge impact on my life,” she said. “I showed up to my first parade meeting as a volunteer in 1981, and asked ‘where do you need me and what can I do?’ I have been here every year since, and it has been wonderful to see the parade develop and change over time.”
Head said the parade has grown exponentially over the years.
“Today, it is the largest Christmas parade in the tri-state area,” she said. “Thousands of people from all over the region and surrounding states come to downtown Owensboro to view the parade each year.”
The annual event, which accepts applications for entries through mid-November, now features approximately 100 individual floats, bands, vehicles, and groups representing local businesses, schools, non-profit organizations and charities each year. The parade’s all-volunteer board chooses a theme each year, and participants are encouraged to decorate with both creativity and Christmas spirit.
Despite its name, the Owensboro-Daviess County Christmas Parade is not organized or funded by local government.
“The City gives us their blessing to operate the parade, and they close the streets for us on the day of the parade, and we are very grateful for that,” Head said. “The organization and operation of the parade, though, is made possible by the efforts of our board and volunteers. We are an organization of people who believe Owensboro deserves to have a Christmas parade. We love to see the community, especially the children, come together to mark the beginning of the holiday season.”
The 2025 Owensboro-Daviess County Christmas Parade will begin at 4:30 p.m. on November 22, beginning at 2nd and Pearl streets and ending at 2nd and Locust — a route familiar to generations who’ve bundled up to watch the lights, music, and magic usher in Christmas downtown.
Holiday in the Park
For nearly four decades, Holiday in the Park has lit up Legion Park with festive displays and community spirit. What began as a simple idea in 1986 has become one of Owensboro’s most sentimental holiday traditions.
The concept was first brought to life by City Recreation Director Cyndi Sturgeon, Facilities Manager Bill Jackson, and community member Army Armstrong.
“(They) developed the idea for building holiday-themed structures and placing them around Legion Park,” said current Director of Parks and Recreation Amanda Rogers. “Those first years, they developed the idea for themes and put out a request to the community for assistance in building and painting wooden structures. Local businesses, organizations, and schools sponsored and built structures. Volunteers placed the structures around the park’s walking trail, and they were uplit. It truly was a community-driven event.”
Rogers began her career with the City of Owensboro in 1998 and has seen Holiday in the Park evolve considerably.
“I’ve been working the event for over 25 years, and back in the late 90s we would have a lighting event for Holiday in the Park, typically in the week leading up to Thanksgiving,” she said. “We had activities and programming as part of the event every week.”
In January 2000, several of the wooden structures were damaged or destroyed by the F3 tornado that ripped through Owensboro.
“We were able to salvage and repair some of the original pieces,” Rogers said, “but the majority were destroyed or beyond repair. After the tornado, City leaders decided to begin purchasing lighted decorations and structures and added them alongside the original pieces we were able to salvage.”
In recent years, attendance declined as more holiday programming popped up across town.
“There are just so many more Christmas activities now than there were 20 years ago,” Rogers said. “We have a set amount of funding, only so many employees, and only so many hours and limited overtime. Decisions have to be made, and over time we started pulling resources from Holiday in the Park for other events.”
When city officials announced in 2024 that Holiday in the Park might end, the community responded with a flood of social media pleas to reconsider the future of the beloved holiday tradition, and Holiday in the Park was saved, at least for 2024. Details for this year’s Holiday in the Park had not been announced at the time this article was written.
Owensboro Dance Theatre’s performance of ‘The German American Bank Nutcracker’
Since 1992, Owensboro Dance Theatre’s annual production of The Nutcracker — a Christmas-themed ballet by Tchaikovsky — has drawn audiences downtown to the RiverPark Center, filling the stage and the hearts of those watching with holiday magic. Preparations for this year’s performance began months ago, and in early December Owensboroans of all ages will once again head downtown for a beloved Christmas tradition.
Owensboro Dance Theatre was founded in 1982 by Co-Artistic Directors Joy Johnson and Karen Carothers. As a pre-professional dance company in its infancy, ODT trained young, aspiring dancers across a variety of disciplines. Johnson recalls those early days fondly, and can still remember when Carothers approached her with the idea of presenting The Nutcracker.
“It was the late 1980s when Karen first started suggesting the idea,” Johnson said. “I was unsure. I didn’t know if we were ready for the undertaking, but Karen kept telling me we needed to do it. We took the leap and it has been an amazing experience each year. Though Karen officially retired several years ago, she still trains dancers and has helped with The Nutcracker every year since its inception.”
Photo by Jamie Plain
This year’s production will feature more than 200 performers. Dancers aged 6-11 fill the extra cast roles, each of the 48 dancers in ODT’s company will be cast in lead dancing roles, and professional dancers will fill roles as necessary to perform lifts and complex choreography.
“Incorporating the professional dancers from Giordano in Chicago is one of the things that makes this a really great experience for our dancers,” Johnson said. “It is an opportunity for these young, aspiring dancers to see the kind of work ethic, attention to detail, and professionalism it requires.”
Assistant Artistic Director Natalie Lopez, an ODT alum who once performed in The Nutcracker herself, said it’s important to add something new to the production each year.
“It’s still The Nutcracker at its essence, but it isn’t a strict ballet,” she said. “We incorporate elements of jazz, tap, and other disciplines to keep the production fresh each year. We change the choreography, the costumes, and other elements to make sure it is a unique experience for the audiences each year.”
Johnson is also quick to point out that it isn’t just the on-stage talent that brings the production to life.
“The production and tech crew backstage are the backbone of the show,” she said. “We are working with that team in the summer months, making sure we have lighting, sets, and every other technical element that is a part of the production ready to go.”
Perhaps the most meaningful performance each year is the school show, when elementary students from Owensboro-Daviess County and surrounding counties fill the theatre for a special daytime performance on the Friday before the curtain officially goes up. Optional study guides and preparation materials are provided to schools in advance, and the curtain is intentionally left open throughout the production so the students can see the crew at work.
“In addition to being an enriching educational opportunity for the students, it provides our dancers with feedback they don’t get from the regular performances,” Lopez said. “When you have an audience full of 6-, 7-, and 8-year-olds, they gasp when they see a lift or a jump, they laugh loudly when something silly happens, they are wide-eyed and on the edge of their seats. It gives our dancers a unique experience.”
Both Johnson and Lopez feel a deep sense of pride in the place The Nutcracker holds in the community.
“It seems the buzz starts earlier each year,” Johnson said. “Everywhere I go around Owensboro, people are asking about The Nutcracker, and it is just so fun. We are proud to be an event that helps to kick off the Christmas season in Owensboro.”
The 2025 German American Bank Nutcracker will be held at the Riverpark Center, with the school performance on December 5 and public performances on December 6 at 7 p.m. and December 7 at 3 p.m. Tickets are available at riverparkcenter.org.
Owensboro Choral Society’s performance of ‘Messiah’
While The Nutcracker brings Christmas to the stage, another Owensboro tradition fills the air with music that has inspired generations. George Frideric Handel’s Messiah has been performed by the Owensboro Choral Society nearly every year since 1941 — making it one of the city’s longest-running holiday customs.
That first performance took place at Third Baptist Church on December 7, 1941 — the very day news broke of the attack on Pearl Harbor. As the performers and attendees filed out of the church on that fateful morning, they were greeted on the sidewalk by a throng of citizens to tell them that the Empire of Japan had attacked the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor. Though the world has changed greatly since that day, Messiah has remained a constant thread in Owensboro’s holiday season.
Over the decades, Messiah has been performed in venues across the city, including the auditoriums of both Owensboro and Daviess County high schools. In 1965, the 25th rendition of the oratorio, under the direction of longtime Choral Society leader J.N. Snyder, was held at the Owensboro Sportscenter and drew a crowd estimated at 2,500 spectators.
The performance also serves as a fundraiser for the Goodfellows Club of Owensboro, with collections taken at intermission to help children in need.
Dr. Connie Ford, a professor of music at Owensboro Community and Technical College, has directed Messiah since 2011. Ford deeply appreciates her part in carrying forward the time-honored holiday tradition.
“It has been an honor to be able to conduct Messiah for so many years in Owensboro,” she said. “I am the latest in a long line of people who have conducted the oratoria in Owensboro since 1941, and I appreciate how special that is. We have started rehearsing for this year’s production, and I can feel the excitement amongst the participants. They know they are a part of a special event that helps begin the holiday season.”
For many families, Messiah is a tradition passed down through generations. Among them is the Taylor family, whose connection spans more than 80 years. Ira Taylor Jr., a 1939 Owensboro High graduate, was the tenor soloist in that first 1941 performance. After serving in World War II, he returned home to continue singing — later helping organize the event as a Choral Society board member. His son, Glen, later filled the same soloist role, and this year, Ira’s great-granddaughter, Lucy Jagoe Chaney, will perform in the chorus as a junior at Owensboro High School.
Messiah has become a common thread through generations of local families. Among them is the Taylor family, whose connection spans more than 80 years. Ira Taylor, Jr., a lifelong Owensboro resident and 1939 graduate of Owensboro High School, held the role of tenor soloist in the first local production in 1941. After receiving the shocking news of the attack on Pearl Harbor that morning, Taylor enlisted and served in World War II. After the war, he returned home and resumed his role as performer in Messiah.
Later, as a board member of the Choral Society, Taylor organized the production and helped it grow exponentially. Taylor’s son, Glenn Taylor Sr., performed as the tenor soloist for the production many years after his father had held the same role. This year, Ira’s great-granddaughter, Lucy Jagoe Chaney, will be a member of the chorus. Chaney, a junior at Owensboro High School, feels a deep sense of pride as she prepares to be the third generation of the Taylor family to perform in Messiah.
“It’s very meaningful to me because my grandfather and great-grandfather were not only part of this production, but were soloists,” she said. “I am excited to be in the chorus this year, and I look forward to auditioning for a soloist role in the future.”
The 83rd annual performance of Messiah will be held at Third Baptist Church on December 7 at 2:30 p.m., under the direction of Dr. Connie Ford.
Owensboro Museum of Fine Art’s Holiday Forest Festival of Trees
Each winter, the Owensboro Museum of Fine Art transforms into a shimmering forest of color, light, and creativity during its Holiday Forest Festival of Trees — a tradition nearly as old as the museum itself. Now in its 49th year, the event showcases approximately 20 Christmas trees that are sponsored and decorated by community organizations, schools, and volunteers.
OMFA Executive Director Jason Hayden, who joined the museum in 1991, said the beloved holiday tradition has evolved in many ways.
“I began as a preparator with the museum in 1991. My first year, for Festival of Trees, we went out and selected 20 live trees from a Christmas tree farm, cut them, and brought them to the museum,” Hayden said. “That year, the fire marshall told us that having so many live trees in the museum was a fire hazard, so we made the transition to artificial Christmas trees the next year.”
The event is only possible thanks to community partnerships. In addition to long-time partner Glenmore Distillery, sponsors this year include the Owensboro Herb Society, Western Kentucky Basket Guild, Daughters of the American Revolution, Owensboro Art Guild, Senior Community Center, and multiple local schools
“Local florists and community volunteers help to decorate the halls of the museum and the trees,” Hayden said. “The final result is a very festive holiday atmosphere.”
During this year’s Holiday Forest Festival of Trees, the museum will also be providing art supplies and instruction to local children as part of a special Christmas project. True to the charter of the building’s roots as a Carnegie library, OMFA is free and open to all, including the Festival of Trees.
“The Holiday Forest Festival of Trees is one of the oldest and most popular holiday traditions in the region,” Hayden said. “It is the perfect way to inaugurate the holiday season.”
The 49th annual Holiday Forest Festival of Trees will be open November 9-December 31 during regular museum hours. A Gala unveiling will take place the evening of November 8, with reservations required.
A season stitched together by tradition
From the sparkling floats of the Christmas parade to the timeless music of Messiah, from the glow of Legion Park to the artistry of The Nutcracker and the Festival of Trees, Owensboro’s holiday season is stitched together by tradition. Each event tells a piece of the community’s story — one of creativity and connection passed down through generations. As the lights flicker on across town and families gather once again, these long-standing celebrations remind us that while times may change, the spirit of Christmas in Owensboro shines as brightly as ever. OL
