{"id":11594,"date":"2025-11-18T09:51:13","date_gmt":"2025-11-18T15:51:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/?p=11594"},"modified":"2025-12-02T15:19:03","modified_gmt":"2025-12-02T21:19:03","slug":"saus-celebration-of-lights-set-to-shine-on-december-4-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/2025\/saus-celebration-of-lights-set-to-shine-on-december-4-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"SAU\u2019s Celebration of Lights set to shine on December 4, 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"11594\" class=\"elementor elementor-11594\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-42e17a75 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"42e17a75\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-753bae60\" data-id=\"753bae60\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ad8bc42 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"ad8bc42\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\" dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span data-olk-copy-source=\"MessageBody\">Due to the threat of inclement weather on Thursday evening and the rescheduling of the Magnolia Christmas Parade, all outdoor Celebration of Lights activities will not take place.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><div style=\"text-align: center;\">Indoor events will continue as scheduled, and guests are invited to enjoy the festive activities still taking place on campus. The campus holiday lights will illuminate at dusk for all to enjoy.\u00a0<\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5628b53f elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"5628b53f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div id=\"attachment_11601\" style=\"width: 236px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-11601\" class=\"wp-image-11601 \" src=\"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/files\/2025\/11\/2C5_FD_5881567_560647680_3-e1763418769953-300x246.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"226\" height=\"185\" srcset=\"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/files\/2025\/11\/2C5_FD_5881567_560647680_3-e1763418769953-300x246.jpg 300w, https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/files\/2025\/11\/2C5_FD_5881567_560647680_3-e1763418769953.jpg 429w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 226px) 100vw, 226px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-11601\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A very special guest spends his evening on SAU\u2019s campus each year for Celebration of Lights.<\/p><\/div><p>Southern Arkansas University\u2019s 42nd annual Celebration of Lights on December 4, 2025, will offer an abundance of holiday cheer with festive lighting displays, photos with Santa, festive food, and more.<\/p><p>SAU\u2019s Celebration of Lights began in 1984 as a lighting display to enhance SAU\u2019s seventy-fifth-year celebration. It included a tree in front of Overstreet and lights strung all over campus. Over the years, the lighting displays grew larger, and in 1988, SAU strung lights along the sides of the Bell Tower, turning it into a cherished monument of the yearly celebration \u2013 SAU\u2019s holiday candle.<\/p><p>The complete schedule of events is as follows:<\/p><ul><li><strong>Family Christmas Movie: <em>The Grinch (2018)<br \/><\/em><\/strong>Foundation Hall\u00a0 |\u00a0 3, 5, and 7 p.m.<\/li><li><strong>Personalized Snow Globes<br \/><\/strong>Reynolds Center | 3-7 p.m.<\/li><li><strong>The Grinch\u2019s Den<br \/><\/strong>Bruce Center, Mulerider Lounge | 4-8 p.m.<\/li><li><strong>Storytime with Mrs. Claus<br \/><\/strong>Magale Library\u00a0 |\u00a0 5, 6, and 7 p.m.<\/li><li><strong>Photos with Santa<br \/><\/strong>Reynolds Center\u00a0 |\u00a0 6-8 p.m.<\/li><li><strong>Buffet Dinner<br \/><\/strong>Reynolds Center, Grand Hall\u00a0 | 6-8 p.m.<\/li><\/ul><p>Activities in Reynolds Center begin at 3:00 p.m. with the first showing of <em>The Grinch<\/em> <em>(2018)<\/em> in Foundation Hall. Two other showings will take place at 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. The creation of personalized snow globes will begin at 3:00 p.m. and conclude at 7:00 p.m., while supplies last in Reynolds 208. Photos with Santa will be taken free of charge for all families in the Reynolds Rotunda from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.<\/p><div id=\"attachment_11603\" style=\"width: 212px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-11603\" src=\"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/files\/2025\/11\/9C_3B9_5881567_516941708_3-e1763418969649-300x271.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"202\" height=\"182\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-11603\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Little listeners enjoy story time with Mrs. Claus during SAU\u2019s annual Celebration of Lights.<\/p><\/div><p>Story Time with Mrs. Claus is held in Magale Library at 5:00, 6:00, and 7:00 p.m. Free <em>Olaf\u2019s Frozen Adventure<\/em> storybooks will be available while supplies last.<\/p><p>The annual holiday buffet dinner and holiday music will take place in Reynolds Grand Hall from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at the door. Adult tickets are $11.59, and children\u2019s tickets (ages 5-12) are $4.49. Children under the age of five eat free of charge.<\/p><p>For more information, call (870) 235-4045.<\/p><p>SAU hopes to see the community gather to enjoy the festivities and spread holiday cheer!<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Due to the threat of inclement weather on Thursday evening and the rescheduling of the Magnolia Christmas Parade, all outdoor Celebration of Lights activities will not take place.\u00a0 Indoor events will continue as scheduled, and guests are invited to enjoy the festive activities still taking place on campus. The campus holiday lights will illuminate at&#8230; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/2025\/saus-celebration-of-lights-set-to-shine-on-december-4-2025\/\"> Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1482,"featured_media":11596,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[276,32641,7753,288,143],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-11594","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-community-corner","8":"category-featured-layout","9":"category-homepage","10":"category-regional-news","11":"category-student-life","12":"entry"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11594","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1482"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11594"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11594\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11691,"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11594\/revisions\/11691"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11596"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11594"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11594"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11594"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}