Christmas, Hanukkah Events In New Port Richey: Parades, Tree Lightings

NEW PORT RICHEY, FL — There are plenty of things going on around New Port Richey to celebrate the 2023 winter holidays.

Hanukkah, the eight-day Jewish festival of lights, starts at sundown on Dec. 7, and ends at nightfall on Dec. 15. Christmas, of course, is on Dec. 25, but you don’t have to wait to start taking in all the sights and sounds of the season.

Hanukkah events around Pasco County include:

Hanukkah Celebration

The Jewish Community Center of West Pasco, 9841 Scenic Drive, Port Richey, will host a Hanukkah celebration on Friday, Dec. 8 at 6:30 p.m. with Shabbat services and a dinner of Kosher pastrami corned beef, rye bread, cole slaw and latkes. Click here for reservations.

Chanukah Street Fair

The Krate at Wesley Chapel, 5817 Wesley Grove Blvd., will host its annual Chanukah Street Fair Sunday, Dec. 10 from 5 to 7 p.m. It will feature a helicopter gelt drop, a circus adventure and aerialist show, roaming stilt walkers, a live DJ, rock climbing, a bungee trampoline, a 60-foot obstacle course, a 360-degree photo booth and face painting. Click here.

Hanukkah On Ice

The 18th annual Hanukkah on Ice, presented by Young Israel of Tampa, will be held on Saturday, Dec. 9 from 7:45 to 10:15 p.m. at the Advent Health Center Ice, 3173 Cypress Ridge Blvd., Wesley Chapel. The evening will feature the lighting of a sculpted ice menorah and ice skating to Jewish music around the flaming menorah. There will be latkes, arts and crafts and a special raffle. Admission for skaters is $10 and includes skate rental. Everyone else is free. RSVP to 813-832-3018 or youngisraeltampa@hotmail.com.

The Legend Of Hanukkah

Unity Church of Port Richey, 11122 U.S. 19, Port Richey, will host "The Legend of Hanukkah: Songs and Stories of Joy and Gratitude" on Tuesday, Dec. 12 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. The Jewish Festival of Lights will commemorate the Maccabee fight for freedom. Click here.

The following tree-lighting ceremonies will take place in Pasco County:

Light Up The Night

Light Up the Night, New Port Richey's tree-lighting event, will take place Friday, Dec. 1, from 6 to 9 p.m., at Sims Park on Grand Boulevard and Bank Street in New Port Richey. The event will start with the tree lighting at 6 p.m. Stick around for games, crafts, train rides, pictures with Santa, food trucks and more.

Tree Lighting And Block Party

The Greater Pasco Chamber of Commerce Young Professionals Group is celebrating the holidays with its annual Christmas Tree Lighting and Block Party that is open and free to the community on Saturday, Dec. 2, from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Greater Pasco Chamber of Commerce, 5433 Main St., New Port Richey. After the tree lighting, kids will have a chance to decorate cookies in their own Santa hat, drink hot cocoa and receive a stocking and an ornament to take home. There will also be music, games and s'mores. Click here.

Zephyrhills Tree Lighting

AdventHealth Zephyrhills’ 39th annual Christmas Tree-Lighting Celebration will take place on Sunday, Dec. 3 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., on the front lawn at 7050 Gall Blvd., in Zephyrhills. The event will include refreshments, local entertainment, holiday activities and a visit from Santa Claus. To register, click here.

Christmas parades in Pasco County include:

Cotee River Christmas Boat Parade

The Cotee River Christmas Boat Parade will take place Saturday, Dec. 2, from 6 to 8 p.m. Decorated boats will sail along the Pithlachascotee River from Miller’s Bayou in Port Richey to Sims Park at 5547 Main St., New Port Richey. Boat captains will compete for up to $500 in cash prizes.

Open seating will be available at Sims Park. DJ Ronnie Bryant will provide music and downtown merchants will be open for food and drinks. Click here.

Festival Of Lights And Christmas Parade

Main Street Zephyrhills will host its Festival of Lights and Christmas Parade on Dec. 2 from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., in downtown Zephyrhills. The parade will begin at 7 p.m. Click here.

Dade City Christmas Parade

The Dade City Christmas Parade will take place Friday, Dec. 8 at 7 p.m. in downtown Dade City. Presented by Rocycle, Saint Leo University and AdventHealth Dade City, the grand marshal will be Simpson Lakes. Click here.

Annual Tiki Cove Boat Parade

The annual Tiki Cove Boat Parade will take place Saturday, Dec. 16 at 7 p.m. at Tiki Cove, 2700 Land O' Lakes Blvd., Land O' Lakes. Boats will gather between 6:30 and 7 p.m. and begin the lap around Lake Padgett before returning to the shores of Tiki Cove for a holiday party in which attendees are encouraged to wear their ugliest Christmas sweaters. Prizes will be awarded for the three best-decorated boats and for Christmas costumes. Click here.

Residents can see Christmas lights galore at these events around Pasco County:

'50s-Style Holiday Songs

The Pasco-Hernando State College Foundation will present "The Atlantic City Boys" on Dec. 1 at 7 p.m. at its West Campus in New Port Richey at 10230 Ridge Road, New Port Richey, as part of its Performing Arts Series. Inspired by the musical, “Jersey Boys,” there will be holiday songs in the style of The Drifters, The Beach Boys and Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. The four performers combine dance moves, audience participation and show-stopping numbers. Tickets range from $30 to $35 and can be purchased online here.

Celebration Of Lights

The Concourse, 11919 Alric Pottberg Road, Shady Hills, will host a Celebration of Lights, featuring more than a mile of lights viewed by car before boarding a miniature train for a ride to Safety Town to visit with Santa. There will also be food trucks on hand.

The Celebration of Lights will run Saturday and Sunday from 6 to 9 p.m. through Dec. 23. The cost is $25 per car and $3 per train ride. Click here.

Symphony Of Lights

Experience the magic of music during the Illuminated Music Series, hosted in the lounge area near The Center Court at The Shops at Wiregrass in Wesley Chapel on Fridays in December from 6 to 8 p.m. Talented musicians and bands will take the stage under a dazzling display of vibrant lights and colorful projections in between the Symphony in Lights show. Click here.

Christmas performances are on tap throughout Pasco County:

Gypsy Star Holiday Concert

Multi-genre band Gypsy Star, along with some special guests, will perform a special holiday concert at the Music Gallery, 5734 Missouri Ave., in New Port Richey on Sunday, Dec. 3, at 7 p.m. Gypsy Star will perform original compositions including their single “The Tale Of The Mistletoe,” along with renditions of traditional holiday favorites.

Tickets are $15 for general admission and $20 for a VIP reserved table, and can be purchased online here.

A Saint Leo Christmas

The community is invited to join in A Saint Leo Christmas, a celebration of music, Tuesday, Dec. 5, and Wednesday, Dec. 6, at 4 and 7 p.m. in the Black Box Theatre in Benedictine Hall on the west side of campus, 33701 County Road 52, St. Leo.

The concert is a combination of contemporary and traditional works. Presented by Saint Leo University’s College of Arts, Sciences, and Allied Services, each song provides a response to the question, "What is Christmas to me?" Cookies and hot chocolate will be provided after each concert. Admission is $5 per person to support Saint Leo University’s music programs. Ticket are available online.

Christmas With The Richey Concert Band

The 30-year-old-plus 87-member Richey Concert Band, led by retired Pasco County Schools music teacher Henry Fletcher, will present a holiday concert on Sunday, Dec. 3 at 3 p.m. at River Ridge High School, 11646 Town Center Road, New Port Richey, featuring carols and other holiday classics as well as "The Ardennes March," composed and directed by 98-year-old World War II veteran Fred Faulkner of Trinity. The composition is named for the Battle of the Bulge, held largely in the Ardennes Forest in Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium and down the Rhine.

Holiday Concerts

The women's choral group Thursday Musicale will hold holiday concerts on Wednesday, Dec. 6, at 7 p.m., and on Thursday, Dec. 7, at 2 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church, 5901 Indiana Ave. in New Port Richey. Donations are requested for scholarships that will be awarded to high school seniors who will major in music in college. Special guests for the Dec. 6 concert will be the Gulf High School Jazz Ensemble and vocalist Ken Hamrick will perform at the Dec. 7 concert. No tickets are necessary. Click here.

Cirque Du Jour To Perform

Cirque Du Jour will present an afternoon of holiday entertainment with Gigi and Friends and special guest Mr. Tommy in Center Court at The Shops At Wiregrass near the Christmas tree on Saturday, Dec. 9 at 2 p.m.

Join Gigi and Mr. Tommy as they lead a sing-along sleigh through favorite holiday songs, dazzle the kids with jaw-dropping magic tricks, perform incredible circus stunts and even a dog show. Click here.

Holiday Puppet Show

Experience the magic of Son Trust & Co. at the Center Court at The Shops at Wiregrass on Dec. 15 and 16, as they present puppet show performances at 6:15, 7:15 and 8:15 p.m. Son Trust & Co. weaves a tapestry of artistic elements, including puppetry, video projection, crowd engagement, dancing characters, live drums, illuminated props and special effects. Click here.