![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernjournal\/files\/2017\/11\/zoolights2-1024x512.jpg\")
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Jade Rayner | Copy Editor<\/span><\/p>\n The holiday season is about to hit full swing, with December right around the corner. Whether you\u2019ve been blasting holiday tunes since the beginning of November or you\u2019ve been avoiding the holidays at all costs, it\u2019s time to embrace this season to the max. Break out your planners, folks, because there is no shortage of fun to be had, come Dec. 1.<\/span><\/p>\n Being a full-fledged Christmas fan or not, there\u2019s no denying the joy that comes from seeing lights adorn trees as far as the eye can see. To catch a tree lighting in action, and snag some free hot cocoa and candy canes in the process, check out one or three of the many tree lighting events taking place within the first week of December.<\/span><\/p>\n Western\u2019s 50th annual tree lighting will take place in front of Campbell Hall at 6 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 1. For more information, refer to page five. Can\u2019t make it that night? Keizer will be holding its annual tree lighting in Walery Plaza on Dec. 5 at 6 p.m. For more information on event details and where to park visit http:\/\/keizerchamber.com<\/span><\/p>\n Independence is lighting up the night with their Parade of Lights on Saturday, Dec. 2 at 5 p.m. It\u2019s important to note that the parade route will look different than it has in the past. For a complete map of the route, check out the Independence city website. A holiday party will be held following end of the parade at the Independence Elk\u2019s Lodge on Main Street at 5:30 p.m.<\/span><\/p>\n For those looking for a little more excitement and a lot more walking than a typical tree lighting has to offer, check out the Oregon Zoo\u2019s 30th year of its ZooLights event. ZooLights takes you on a journey through a spectacle of over a million lights, while also offering rides on the train, pictures with Santa and a variety of food carts. The event runs through Jan. 7, but will be closed Dec. 24 and 25 as well as Jan. 1 through 4. <\/span><\/p>\n For those who want to save some money this season, plan on attending one of the value nights for a cheaper admission price. To see a calendar of when those are, as well as pricing and event times, go to http:\/\/oregonzoo.org\/visit\/zoolights.<\/span><\/p>\n The Elsinore Theatre in downtown Salem is offering multiple opportunities to get a nostalgia fix with a variety of holiday movies and performances. From screenings of \u201cA Charlie Brown Christmas\u201d and \u201cElf,\u201d to the Eugene Ballet Company\u2019s \u201cThe Nutcracker\u201d and \u201cSing We Now of Christmas\u201d performed by Festival Chorale of Oregon, the possibilities are plentiful. A full list of performances and movie screenings can be found on http:\/\/elsinoretheatre.com.<\/span><\/p>\n There are a plethora of activities and events available to attend during the holiday season. As the term winds down, it\u2019s the perfect time to start planning how to achieve a well-deserved break from school and have fun in the process. <\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Contact the author at journalcopy@wou.edu<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Jade Rayner | Copy Editor The holiday season is about to hit full swing, with December right around the corner. Whether you\u2019ve been blasting holiday tunes since the beginning of November or you\u2019ve been avoiding the holidays at all costs, it\u2019s time to embrace this season to the max. Break out your planners, folks, because […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1030,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6710","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-entertainment"],"modified_by":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6710","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1030"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6710"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6710\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6710"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6710"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6710"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}