COVINGTON, Ga. — For several hours the evening of Dec. 6, thousands stopped by Legion Field for Covington’s Mistletoe Market vendors to try their hand at the ice rink and admire the dozens of trees lining the track.
Though Saturday’s biting cold may have kept some from coming out to watch the city’s Christmas Parade that morning, the chilly weather only added to the winter wonderland aesthetic that night at Legion Field.
With roaming carolers and hot beverages left and right, the third-ever installment of Lights at Legion was a true source of holiday cheer.
“It’s an opportunity to enjoy a winter Christmas or holiday experience right here in our backyard and not have to go to Atlanta or Athens or somewhere else to get that type of experience,” said Ken Malcom, tourism and downtown development director for the City of Covington.
Malcom said that there were 170 trees ringing the field this year – all locally sourced from Berry’s Tree Farm. Every tree is sponsored by a local business, organization, government entity or other group that gets to decorate it as they please. Most of the trees represented the organization in some capacity, such as the Carmichael’s Pharmacy tree with the classic orange pill bottles over the lights, giving the tree a warm glow.
The trees were lit up on Saturday night and will remain on display for the community to enjoy until Jan. 4, 2026. But, to make Saturday’s kickoff extra special, attendees were able to cast votes for their favorite trees that night only.
The People’s Choice winners were announced on Facebook on Wednesday. Winners were divided into four categories: family, organization, business and Discover Covington Tree.
The winners were:
- Family Category: The Phyall Tree
- Organization Category: Shelby Shines on Foundation
- Business Category: All Air
- Discover Covington Tree: Heart of Newton
Mistletoe Market was made up of 40 vendors, though Malcom said more were signed up but opted out due to the potential for inclement weather. One booth features a Newton County brother and sister duo selling their wares.
Tyrus Mosley and his younger sister Myra were hard at work. Tyrus, just 17 years old, sold his original art pieces, and Myra had a display of handmade bracelets.
“So me and my sister started our crafts festival journey two years ago here in Covington, ever since then we’ve been touring Georgia traveling to different craft festivals,” Tyrus said. “ Legion Field is in the same city where we started, so we decided that we’re going to set up there for our last one of the year. It went very well, besides the cold weather it was phenomenal.”
Other vendors sold baked goods and handmade wares, and an assortment of food and beverage trucks kept the crowd fed and warm.
“[Lights at Legion] has become just a wonderful Christmas tradition here in Covington,” Malcom said.
Malcom said that two years ago, around 2,200 people came to the event. Last year, the headcount was closer to 4,400.
This year’s iteration welcomed around 3,500 guests, according to Placer A.I. data from Malcom.
“The community’s really embraced the Lights at Legion project,” Malcolm said.
