It's the Claus family! The Christmas season is officially upon us. The Nov. 26 Blaze parade brought Mr. and Mrs. Claus to Bluffton. Watch for many videos and photos coming later today.
Just as it was promised, the Blaze Ice Man was "Ultimate Cool."
New to this year's Blaze, ice sculptor Chad Hartson of Ice Creations, from Napoleon, was the lead act to one of the highest attended Blaze of Lights in the 25-year history of the event.
Hartson is one of America's leading sculptors with national and international recognition. Working with a block of ice 40 by 20 by 10 inches kept the attention of the crowd for 45 minutes as he created a toy soldier from his large ice cube.
Here are some photos and a short video of the artist at work.
First place - The Black Lab
Second place - Citizens National Bank
Third place - Groves Collectibles and Antiques
Those are the winners of this year's Bluffton Area Chamber of Commerce downtown holiday window decorating contest.
Casting ballots this year were all 43 downtown busineses that were part of the new garland lighting project. Each business had one ballot.
The Black Lab receives a traveling trophey that it will keep until next year's contest, according to Lauren Beasley, chairperson of the lighting contest.
The Eric Garmatter coach era started with a "W" as Bluffton High School girls launched the 2011-12 basketball season with 50-41 win over Cory-Rawson in the first round of the McDonalds' holiday tournament at BHS on Nov. 25.
Bluffton faces Arlington on Nov. 26 in the title game at 8 a.m. Arlington was a 59-31 winner over Allen East.
Until GPS can direct you to all the lights in Bluffton a map will have to do.
The Bluffton Area Chamber of Commerce provides those intersested in viewing Bluffton's wide range of Christmas holiday lights with a map to navigate the streets of town.
The printer-friendly copy, which is an attachment to this story, is your starting point to a great evening of cruising Bluffton.
At 7 p.m. Saturday night these singers and countless additional Ream holiday folk art cutouts come to life. It's the 25th annual Bluffton Blaze of Lights.
