'Christmas In Bel Air' Schedule: Carriage Rides, Parade, Santa Visits, Tree Lighting

BEL AIR, MD — Now through Jan. 2, downtown Bel Air will be humming with the magic of the holiday season. The area will be lit with thousands of festive lights from 5 to 11 p.m., setting the scene.

Horse-drawn carriage rides will be available Saturdays from 5 to 9 p.m. between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Sign up in person at the Armory on the evening you want to go for a ride. Rides last approximately 10 minutes and the carriage holds up to four adults.

Santa will be stationed in front of the Harford County Courthouse Saturdays from 5 to 8 p.m. from Thanksgiving through Christmas to hear kids' wish lists. Children also can hand deliver a letter to him, too.

The Christmas parade and tree lighting ceremony will be Dec. 4 at 3:30 p.m. in downtown Bel Air. The parade starts at Main Street and Churchville Road and ends at Hickory Avenue. A community bonfire and singalong will be held afterward in Shamrock Park with food trucks, cookies and hot chocolate at 4:15 p.m. and the Tree Lighting at Town Hall will start at approximately 4:45 p.m. There will be stilt walkers and acrobats, local high school marching bands, costumed characters and mascots, beauty queens, dancers, floats, musical groups, special equestrian guests and Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus.

Also in Bel Air this holiday season will be the:

• Christmas Train Garden at Armory Marketplace,
• the Bel Air Holiday Market on Saturdays,
• Artists Sunday,
• the Rockfield Manor Annual Tree Lighting,
• Liriodendron Holiday Open House,
• A Snowman's Holiday with SSO,
• Winter Wonderland Market,
• Merry & Bright Concert,
• Bel Air Community Band Winter Concert,
• Rejoice! A Community Choral Celebration,
• Nutcracker Sweets by Ballet Chesapeake,
• The Nutcracker by the John Carroll Ballet Academy,
• Harford Choral Society Annual Concert,
• Drive-in Movies, and
• Tuba Christmas.