Friday, Dec. 21

ENTERTAINMENT · The Chattanooga Zoo will grant free admission to children ages 12 and younger on Friday, Dec. 21, during the zoo’s Holiday Lights event. The zoo also will accept donations for the Newtown (Conn.) Memorial Fund to be used to assist families in mourning following the tragic shooting there on Dec. 14. For more information, call 423-697-1319 or visit chattzoo.org.

ENTERTAINMENT · Ruby Red Christmas returns to Ruby Falls at Lookout Mountain from 5-9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays in December. The last tour goes at 8 p.m., shops and carriage rides are open until 9 p.m. Tickets cost $17.95 for adults and $15.95 for children (child’s ticket includes a photo with Santa and foam craft-gingerbread house or photo frame at the North Pole workshop). Carriage rides (capacity six people) with tour cost $14.95 flat rate per carriage ride; without tour, $19.95 flat rate per ride. Enjoy snow at Cavern Castle, costumed characters and holiday music. For more information, visit rubyfalls.com/christmas.

COMMUNITY · The City of LaFayette’s annual “Amazing Christmas” light show will continue through Jan. 2, 2013, at Joe Stock Memorial park. The synchronized musical light show is held from 6-10 p.m. nightly through most of December. Tune to FM 89.5 to hear the music played in the light show. For more information, call the city parks and recreation department at 706-639-1590.

COMMUNITY · The City of LaFayette will host a traditional and large-scale Lionel model train and village display inside a decorated Chattooga Academy/Gordon Hall. The display coinincides with the “Amazing Christmas” light show daily from 6-10 p.m., through Jan. 2, 2013.

COMMUNITY · Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park will close the following monuments for the winter season: Wilder Brigade Monument, the Highway 27 picnic area, the Sanders picnic area and the Signal Point restrooms. These areas will reopen in mid-March, pending weather conditions. For more information, call 706-866-9241 or 423-821-7786 or visit nps.gov/chch.

COMMUNITY · Catoosa Citizens for Animal Care, Inc. is selling Adventures in Dining Coupon Books for $35. The books contain 87 buy-one-get-one free coupons for dining and entertainment in Chattanooga, north Georgia and Cleveland. The total value of the book is over $1,100. The group receives a $10 commission for each book sold. Books are available at the following locations: Ringgold Telephone Company and Tille Town in Ringgold; and The Animal Medical Center in Ft. Oglethorpe. CCAC is a non-profit volunteer organization formed to improve animal care awareness in Catoosa County. Its mission is to promote the humane treatment of animals through responsible pet ownership by: 1) reducing animal over-population through a spay/neuter program; 2) educate the community about the humane treatment of animals; and 3) help connect animals in need of homes with families. Call 24-hour Help Line (706-937-2287) or visit www.catoosacitizensforanimalcare.org.

Saturday, Dec. 22

COMMUNITY · Holiday Candlelight Tours at the Marsh House in LaFayette will be offered each Saturday and Sunday in December from 6-8 p.m. Admission is $5 for adults and $1 for children. This year’s theme is "Christmas 1880: At Home with The Marsh-Warthen Family." Hot cider and gingerbread will be served at the end of the tour. For more information, call 706-638-5187. For group tours, call 423-503-3843.

ENTERTAINMENT · “Elvis & Friends: Rock & Country Christmas” with “Harold Schultz & the Rock-A-Billy Band”and special guest “Ashley Rivera” will perform at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 22, at the Colonnade, 264 Catoosa Circle, Ringgold. General admission is $15 for adults, $15 for seeniors (age 55 and older), and $15 for students. Call 706-935-9000, for more information or visit colonnadecenter.org.

Sunday, Dec. 23

COMMUNITY · Christmas at the Farm has been rescheduled for Sunday, Dec. 23, from 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. at Willow Tree Farms, 607 Post Oak Road in Ringgold, just north of Heritage High School. Parking is on-site or by shuttle from Heritage High School. Enjoy a petting zoo, craft for kids, Santa, hayride, firepit, Christmas drama, hot beverages and snacks. Admission is free. Attendees are encouraged to bring canned goods for Christ’s Chapel Share and Care Mission or toiletries for the Family Crisis Center. For more information visit BoyntonUMC.org or 706-866-2626. The event is a gift to the community from Boynton United Methodist Church.

CHURCH · Crosspointe Church in Ringgold will present a modern, realistic Christmas play “of faith, hope, love, and joy,” with two showings at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. each Sunday in December, beginning Dec. 2. and running through December 23. A choir and band will add to the performance. For more information, call 706-935-2000 or visit my-crosspointechurch.org.

CHURCH · Chattooga Baptist Church’s Children's Christmas play will be performed Sunday morning, Dec. 23, at 11 a.m. The church is on Highway 337, about 7 miles south of LaFayette, in the Center Post community.

Monday, Dec. 24

CHURCH · LaFayette Presbyterian Church at 107 North North Main Street will host a Candlelight and Communion Open House on Christmas Eve, from 5-7 p.m., in the sanctuary. Members of the community are invited to come by for a quiet time of Christmas music, candlelight, and communion.

CHURCH · Christmas Eve events at Ringgold United Methodist include a children’s craft and storytime at 10 a.m. Drop in communion between 10 a.m. and noon- all are welcome. A Christmas Eve family-friendly service begins at 5 p.m. and a Candlelight service is at 10 p.m. Call 706-935-4777 for more information. Ringgold UMC is at 7484 Nashville Street, in downtown Ringgold.

CHURCH · A Christmas Eve Candlelight Worship will be held at Boynton United Methodist Church in Ringgold on Monday, Dec. 24, at 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. Boynton United Methodist is located at 4246 Boynton Drive, two miles west of I-75, south of Battlefield Parkway at Pine Grove and Boynton. Visit www.BoyntonUMC.org or call 706-866-2626 for more information.