Historic Como will ring in the holiday season with “Christmas in Como: A Musical Medley 2009.”  This  fifth annual event, set for Saturday, December 5, beginning at 3 p.m., promises more free entertainment, both amateur and professional, than ever before.

Twice during 2009, the Mississippi Blues Commission honored Como with new Blues Trail Markers, placed in honor of the late reed-fife player Otha Turner, as well as the singer and  bottle-neck style guitarist Mississippi Fred McDowell.

Music will again be in the mix as Como’s Christmas festivities will offer the public a diverse mix of music during the entire afternoon, performed inside and  outside of various buildings on the town’s quaint and walkable Main  Street.  

This free entertainment includes, among others, a local gospel  trio, The Como Mamas; Otha Turner’s granddaughter, Sharde, with her  Rising Star Fife & Drum Band; the Northwest Mississippi Community College Steel Drum Band; Oxford saxophonist Jeff Martin; Batesville bagpiper Forrest Clark, together with pipers from the  Wolf River Pipe & Drum Corps; and children’s choirs from both Como and Batesville.

“We wanted to expand upon our annual Christmas in Como event, focusing  on creating a community-wide, diversified event that promotes goodwill  and holiday spirit for locals and visitors alike,” says Mayor Judy Sumner.

A Youth Art Contest is planned and a children’s Christmas store will offer many gifts under a dollar, as well as volunteers to help the  children wrap their purchases.

Two memory trees, located at The Ranch Restaurant and at the Como Library, give everyone a chance to remember a loved one and give a donation to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

The town also will hold the a Chili & Soup Cook-off in the Como Community Center on Main Street, where cooks will compete for cash prizes, and Jennifer Biggs, food editor at The Commercial Appeal, and local chef Walt Norwood will judge the entries.  

During the afternoon, visitors can munch on free popcorn while they buy chances to win prizes.

At 6 p.m., visitors are invited to join local carolers at the Methodist Church on the south end of Main Street, and to then parade to the center of town for the lighting of the live cedar Christmas tree, signaling the opening of the season for Como.

The public can find out more information  about “Christmas in Como: A Musical Medley,  2009” by contacting the Como the public library at (662) 526-5283 or Como City Hall at (662) 526-5106, or by e-mailing m-f-t-g@comcast.net.