The Wilson County Convention & Visitors Bureau is pleased to bring you sample highlights of upcoming holiday events in our area. We have everything from parades to train rides with Santa, to holiday theatre musicals and amazing drive-thru light displays! Wilson County has something for everyone this holiday season!

Pack up your family and head to some of Wilson County's drive-thru Christmas light displays! The Festival of Lights is open from 5 p.m. until 9 p.m., every Thursday through Sunday inside historic Fiddlers Grove at the James E. Ward Agricultural Center from Nov. 26 through Dec. 26. Admission is $5 per car. Then visit one of the nation's largest Christmas light displays at Chad's Winter Wonderland, located just off Hwy. 109 in Lebanon. Admission is $10 per car. View over two million lights and visit the live Santa while you're there!

Another holiday favorite is the Tennessee Central Railway's North Pole Express Train with Santa. The train will run Nov. 27, Dec. 4 and 11. Tickets for the train sell out quickly, so get yours today! For train information and tickets, please contact the Tennessee Central Railway Museum at 615-244-9001, or visit www.tcry.org.

Experience the holiday cheer with marching bands, floats, Santa and so much more! Enjoy the City of Lebanon's Christmas Parade on Dec. 5, beginning at 2 p.m. The Jingle Jog 5K will take place prior to the Lebanon Christmas Parade. This fun run is sure to warm your heart! And don't miss the City of Mt. Juliet's Christmas Parade on Dec. 11, beginning at 11 a.m. The theme for this year's parade is "Toy Store Christmas."

If you love shopping during the holiday season, you're in luck! The Art Mill in Lebanon will host a Parent's Day Out "Shop 'Til You Drop" Kids Art Camp on Nov. 26 and 27. You can treat your kids to a fun painting class while you do some holiday shopping. Then head to Mt. Juliet for their annual Holiday Bazaar at the Mt. Juliet Community Center on Dec. 4 and 5. Get in the holiday spirit with caroling, carriage rides, hot apple cider and more at Providence Marketplace's annual Tree Lighting Celebration on Nov. 27. Also on Dec. 4 and 5, Providence Marketplace will host Snowfest. Enjoy outdoor ice skating and visit with Santa. You can also visit with Santa on the Watertown Square on Dec. 4 and 11.

Celebrate Christmas the old-fashioned way with the City of Watertown at their annual Christmas Tour of Homes on Dec. 11 and 12. You'll tour some of Wilson County's beautiful and historic homes. You also won't want to miss Historic Lebanon Tomorrow's 3rd Annual Tour of Historic Places on Dec. 4 and 5.

All dates and times are subject to change. For more information on these events and others, contact the Wilson County Convention & Visitors Bureau or visit www.visitwilsoncounty.com. You can also look for us on Facebook and Twitter!

PHOTO BY candrews

Shoppers at Mt. Juliet's Providence MarketPlace and Paddocks shopping developments can expect to see more men and women in blue on "Black Friday" as the Mt. Juliet Police Department (MJPD) kicks off Operation Safe Shopper - an initiative to help deter crime, increase response times and alleviate traffic congestion during the busy holiday shopping season.

As part of Operation Safe Shopper, MJPD's Crime Suppression Unit and other members of the department will be in marked and undercover vehicles, on foot and on bicycles to raise law enforcement visibility and promptly respond to calls for service in the shopping centers as well as surrounding areas. Operation Safe Shopper will run from Nov. 26 through Dec. 31 throughout the holiday season.

"Because the number of crimes and complaints often rise the day after Thanksgiving throughout the peak holiday shopping season, we'll be increasing patrols seven days a week," said Lieutenant Keith Youmans, MJPD's Patrol Commander.

Community Policing Director Cpl. Tyler Chandler added, "It's our goal that Operation Safe Shopper will keep people even safer as they choose to spend time in one of Tennessee's best and safest communities. We hope the time that visitors spend in our community is a positive experience."

In addition, the Mt. Juliet Police Department has taken steps to ease traffic congestion around the Interstate 40 shopping hub. The timing of the traffic light sequencing has been adjusted for all intersections near Providence MarketPlace and Paddock shopping centers.

MJPD reminds all residents and visitors that there are alternate routes to get in and out of Providence MarketPlace. The alternate route you choose may get you to your destination even quicker. You can view those routes on the MJPD website.

Police offer the following holiday shopping safety tips:

• Stay alert and be aware of your surroundings at all times.
• Park in well-lighted spaces, lock car doors and place packages out of sight in the trunk or underneath seats.
• Do not carry large amounts of cash; pay with a check or credit card if possible.
• Carry purses close to the body, not dangling by the straps.
• Put wallets in an inside coat or front pants pocket.
• Supervise children at all times. Teach children to go to a police officer or security guard if they get lost or separated.
• Take a holiday inventory. The holidays are a good time to take photos or videos of items in your home.

Because traffic also increases around the shopping centers during the holidays, police are also advising shoppers to take heed of the following driving tips:

• Don't block intersections. Blocking intersections causes frustrating and unsafe back-ups; that's why it's against the law. When the traffic signal turns yellow, avoid trying to beat the upcoming red light and pulling into and blocking busy intersections. Instead, drop back and wait for the next green light. When traffic lights are green, make sure there is adequate room to completely cross the intersection.
• Don't run red lights. Running a red light can have deadly consequences. As a result, Mt. Juliet has seven red-light cameras designed to deter red-light offenders. Red-light citations carry a $50 fine with an additional penalty if the fine is not paid within a specified period. Violators who run a red light and are cited by a police officer can face a higher fine as well as insurance points.
• Contact the Mt. Juliet Police Department in case of any accidents. If the accident is minor without injury, motorists should move their vehicles out of the travel lane and into a parking lot or onto the shoulder and call Mt. Juliet Police at (615 754-2550. For accidents involving injuries, motorists should call 911.
• Watch for pedestrians. Maintain a safe speed in parking lots and be on the lookout for shoppers exiting vehicles and walking to stores.
• At stop signs, come to a complete stop behind the white stop lines and not in the crosswalk. Especially when turning right on red, remember that a full stop behind the stop bar is necessary to give time to look both ways before proceeding. Look not only for cars but also for pedestrians and cyclists.
• Always use a turn signal to prevent accidents. A turn signal alerts motorists of your intended action and helps prevent rear-end crashes, which is why it's the law.
• Be patient. There will be a record number of motorists and pedestrians, so a little holiday cheer will go a long way for safety.

For everyone's safety, motorists can expect strict enforcement of these and other traffic laws as the Mt. Juliet Police Department works around the clock to make sure everyone has safe and happy holidays.

The fifth annual Sales Tax Holiday is scheduled for Friday, August 6 and continuing through Sunday, August 8. The Department of Revenue is reminding Tennessee shoppers that during these three days of savings, you can save almost 10 percent on tax-free clothing, school and art supplies and computer purchases.

"The annual Sales Tax Holiday was designed with Tennessee families in mind," said Governor Phil Bredesen. "The holiday provides much needed savings for all Tennessee shoppers and prepares children for success by making sure they start the first day of school properly equipped with items they need."

The holiday begins Friday, August 6 at 12:01 a.m. and ends Sunday, August 8 at 11:59 p.m. During the designated three-day weekend, consumers will not pay state or local sales tax on select clothing with a price of $100 or less per item, school and art supplies with a price of $100 or less per item, and computers with a price of $1,500 or less.

"Last year's tax-free weekend was extremely successful in giving back to Tennesseans, providing nearly $8 million in tax savings to Tennessee families," said Revenue Commissioner Reagan Farr. "We are hopeful that all Tennessee shoppers will enjoy the immediate relief of the 2010 Sales Tax Holiday."

Please visit the Sales Tax Holiday website at www.tntaxholiday.com to learn more about the items exempt from sales tax. The Tennessee Department of Revenue also assists customers via e-mail, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , and through its toll-free statewide telephone hot line, (800) 342-1003. Staff is available to answer questions Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. until 5 p.m. Central Time. (Out-of-state and Nashville-area callers, please dial 615-253-0600.)

In a continued effort to promote Tennessee's sales tax holiday, the Department of Revenue has launched a new dedicated facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/TNTaxHoliday.

Examples of exempt items include:

• Clothing: Shirts, dresses, pants, coats, gloves and mittens, hats and caps, hosiery, neckties, belts, sneakers, shoes, uniforms whether athletic or non-athletic and scarves
• School Supplies: Binders, book bags, calculators, tape, chalk, crayons, erasers, folders, glue, pens, pencils, lunch boxes, notebooks, paper, rulers and scissors
• Art Supplies: Clay and glazes; acrylic, tempera and oil paints; paintbrushes for artwork; sketch and drawing pads; and watercolors
• Computers: Central processing unit (CPU), along with various other components including monitor, keyboard, mouse, cables to connect components and preloaded software (Note: While the CPU may be purchased separately, other items must be part of a bundled computer package in order to be eligible.) iPads are eligible for tax exemption, video games and consoles are not.

(ARA) - There are many new and exciting advances in the world of consumer electronics, and when it comes to purchasing your newest gadget, wading through endless options can be daunting. Ask anyone who has gone on vacation with a sub-par camera or sat through a grainy or fuzzy movie or sporting event on their TV - there is nothing more frustrating that dealing with outdated or confusing technology.

With so much confusion around electronics and what to look for when buying, it leaves many people wishing they had a personal shopper to help them determine what's best for them, with a minimum amount of hassle. The best idea is to turn to a trusted source that can help you make a well-informed decision.

The same attention that we pay to making sure our clothes have the right style for us should also be given to making sure electronics are the best fit for our lifestyles. While we don't all have personal shoppers, there are great online resources and tips from electronics experts that can make your search and shopping process easier and more fun.

Know the ABCs of cameras and TVs
The many acronyms that get tacked onto cameras and TVs to describe their characteristics and capabilities can make your head spin. However, it really is important that you understand what you are buying, so you can make sure to get exactly what you need. When it comes to TVs, simply finding out what kind of screen you need is confusing. Do you opt for an LCD (liquid crystal display), plasma or LED (light-emitting diode)? Is one better than the other for video games or watching Blu-ray discs?

Searching for a new camera can be just as confusing. There are so many camera terms to understand, megapixels, RAW, SD cards . . . you'd need to be a pro to explain the laundry list of functions and settings on some of the more advanced models. Before making a final purchase, you should definitely conduct some research and create a list of questions you need answered. Find a few models that are of interest to you and do some comparison shopping.

Harness the power of the Web
One of the best resources for consumer electronics information is the Internet. It's most people's go-to research tool these days, and there are some great sites devoted to specific brands and models of TVs and cameras, along with consumer reviews to give you more piece-of-mind.

However if you really don't have time to do research about every last detail, new tools like TVMatchMaker.com and CameraMatchmaker.com from Sears are ideal resources. You simply answer a few quick questions about where and how you'll use a new camera or TV and it does the matchmaking for you, providing the three top choices for your exact needs.

If you're looking for a new television, the TV MatchMaker suggests the best television options for you based on your criteria including:
* the brightness of the room
* where you'll put the TV and
* the other kinds of equipment you'll be connecting to the TV

The Camera MatchMaker takes into account information like:
* the kind of pictures you most often take
* how much control you want to have over the settings
* what type of camera design you prefer
* your brand preference

The only thing better than getting the right product for your needs is getting it for a great price. If you go to the TV and Camera MatchMaker sites and answer the questions to find your best match, you can also enter the MatchMaker Sweepstakes for a chance to win a gift card that may be used toward your home electronics purchase with one quick click. For complete official rules, go to: www.sears.com/tvmatchmakersweeps.

Just as you wouldn't wear a sweater or shoes that don't fit, you shouldn't have electronics that don't meet your needs. For more information about finding the right TV and camera for you, visit TVMatchMaker.com and CameraMatchmaker.com.

Courtesy of ARAcontent