NEW ORLEANS – Bells were ringing this afternoon at the Waveland Christmas Family Festival– an event celebrating the holidays for the second year in a row.

“We have games for children. We have a cakewalk, we have crafts that children can make and bring home with them,” said volunteer, Kristen Tusa. “We have a group of volunteers who are giving away books for children to read.”

Community members set up booths to hand out snacks, gift bags, and candy. Kids at the festival were relieved to get out and enjoy the Christmas spirit. “It’s actually really fun. I get to see my younger cousins and everybody come out and have fun with the different games,” fest-goer Kiara Johnson told WNGO. “It’s a happy feeling to see everybody smile because with COVID going around, we had to be inside for, I believe, a month or two and nobody really got to see anybody unless it was like over text or over FaceTime.”

“Things have been so dark. So many concerns about everyone’s health,” explained Tusa. “So I think anything that we can do to add a little bit to their Christmas season safely is still something that we could do and provide for the community.”

The City of Waveland is holding a Christmas parade next Saturday at 4 PM on Coleman Avenue.