Chautauqua-Wawasee's free Old-Fashioned Christmas is set for Saturday, Nov. 28, from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at Oakwood Resort, 702 E. Lake View Road, with the tree lighting at 6 p.m. Last year's event was scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 29, and was canceled because of an approaching winter storm, as InkFreeNews reported. So the Saturday after Thanksgiving brings the event back to Oakwood after a year off. It runs on the same grounds that have hosted crowds walking from a gathering place up to a chapel since the 1890s.
The event is built as a walk, and the route follows the old camp-meeting layout.
A camp-meeting ground with a stage, a path and a chapel
The Syracuse-Wawasee Historical Museum traces Oakwood Park to an Evangelical Church camp-meeting ground on Lake Wawasee. Successor denominations kept it running, and it eventually became a United Methodist camp and conference center. The museum's tour also covers the buildings that grew around the meetings. These include Kimmell Hall, built in 1924, and the Esther Hotel, built in 1904 and 1905.
The building at the center of Christmas night is Oakwood Chapel. The museum describes it as a miniature of the main tabernacle, built as a children's chapel with open-stud walls and chairs.
The grounds have changed hands since those early years. Oakwood Resort says ownership passed from the foundation to the Parent family in 2012. The resort's Event Center was built in 1961 as worship and administrative space and was renovated into an event venue in the late 1990s. Chautauqua-Wawasee came out of the same tradition. According to its own history, Ann Strong Wade founded it after three years of planning. Its first programs ran in 2011, and it merged with the Oakwood Foundation as an independent nonprofit in 2014. Its mission is built around Art, Education, Faith and Recreation. The Christmas evening covers all four.
How the evening unfolds, stop by stop
Chautauqua-Wawasee's 2026 announcement sets the order. The rest of the grounds open only after the tree is lit.
- 5:30 p.m., the gathering. Music starts around the tall Christmas tree in front of Oakwood Resort.
- 6 p.m., the countdown. The crowd counts down and the tree lights for the season. InkFreeNews has described it as a 50-foot tree.
- After the lighting, the characters. Santa and Mrs. Claus, Buddy the Elf, Frosty, Toy Soldiers, reindeer and the Grinch are on the grounds for photos.
- Along the decorated path. An elf reads The Night Before Christmas, and the Live Nativity comes next.
- Oakwood Chapel. Guests hear the Biblical account of Christmas from the book of Luke inside the historic chapel.
- Around the grounds all evening. Horse-drawn wagon rides, a live reindeer encounter, fire pits with hot chocolate, cookies and s'mores, games, a photo booth and costumed carolers run until 8 p.m.
InkFreeNews' account of the 2023 event, the fourth annual, shows how the route works on foot. Families went up the lighted paths to Santa and Mrs. Claus. Then they took a luminary-lit path to the historic Oakwood Chapel, passing the live nativity on the way. That year the tree carried more than 7,000 lights. Members of the Wawasee High School Choir, the Chain Gang barbershop quartet and the Vocal Artists of Heartland Sings opened the night from the stage in front of Oakwood. The Chain Gang also appears in the photo with this year's sponsorship notice.
Why the chapel sits at the top of the path
The order of stops follows the grounds. The tree and stage are at the front of Oakwood. The quieter parts of the evening are farther along the paths. The reading from Luke happens inside a building that was made for children's worship on a camp-meeting ground. The organizer describes the chapel stop as a peaceful moment of reflection in the middle of the festivities. Most of the evening is outdoors, which Chautauqua-Wawasee says gives it the feel of an old-fashioned community Christmas celebration.
The paths, the park the wagons circle and the chapel at the end were already part of the grounds. The event adds lights, characters and hot chocolate along them.
What a free night costs to put on
Admission is free, but the evening costs money to run. According to a Chautauqua-Wawasee release published by InkFreeNews on Oct. 22, the event costs more than $11,000 to organize and serves more than 1,000 people. That covers live music, the horse-drawn wagon, Santa, the reindeer, decorations, refreshments and giveaways. The release calls this year's event the seventh annual Old-Fashioned Christmas.
Sponsors cover that cost so families don't pay admission. Businesses could give at $250, $500 or $2,000. Donations go by mail to Chautauqua-Wawasee, P.O. Box 323, Syracuse, IN 46567.
The 2023 sponsor list shows how many local groups support the evening. InkFreeNews named the Town of Syracuse Parks Department, the Wawasee Area Conservancy Foundation, the Syracuse-Wawasee Historical Museum, the Syracuse-Wawasee Rotary Club, Oakwood Resort, the Syracuse-Wawasee Chamber, Lakeland Youth Center, Milford Christian Church and many local businesses listed in that year's program guide.
The rest of Syracuse's early-December stretch
Oakwood opens the season, and Syracuse has two more holiday events on the calendar right after it.
| When | What | Where | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov. 5 through Dec. 1 | Friends of the Library silent auction of seven 3-foot pre-lit themed trees | Syracuse Public Library | Bids |
| Sat., Nov. 28, 5:30 to 8 p.m. | Old-Fashioned Christmas, tree lighting at 6 p.m. | Oakwood Resort, 702 E. Lake View Road | Free |
| Sat., Dec. 5, 8 to 11 a.m. | Breakfast with Santa | Syracuse Community Center | $6 adults, kids free |
The library's tree auction opens the same Thursday this post publishes. The trees have different themes, including snowmen, woodland, gingerbread, lake, angels and Christmas packages. The money raised will furnish meeting rooms in the new library. Breakfast with Santa, listed in the Syracuse Parks & Recreation 2026 brochure, serves pancakes, sausage and refreshments. Afterward, kids can make a craft, write a letter to Santa, or have cookies and milk while the Wawasee High School Christmas Band plays.
Before you head to Oakwood
- Arrive by 5:30. The countdown is at 6, and the paths open after the lighting. Chautauqua-Wawasee suggests arriving around 5:30.
- Dress for being outside. Most of the evening is outdoors, and the organizer advises dressing warmly.
- Check Chautauqua-Wawasee's channels that day. Last year's event was canceled for weather, so check the Chautauqua-Wawasee website for the evening's schedule and any weather updates before you leave home.
- Leave time for the chapel. The reading from Luke inside Oakwood Chapel is at the far end of the decorated path, past the elf's storytime and the Live Nativity.
Evenings like this one at Oakwood are part of what makes a Lake Wawasee winter feel like home. If you're thinking about a home near the lake, or you just want to talk about the season, the Deb Paton Showley Group is here in Syracuse and glad to help you find your dream home.
