Natchitoches (Nack-a-tish) has been called the “City of Lights” since 1926, when the city’s chief electrician, Max Burgdof, decided that stringing Christmas lights along Front Street would be a nice Christmas present from the city utility to the town's residents. That initial gesture has evolved into a six-week-long Festival of Lights.

Burgdof built the display's first set piece, an eight-foot-tall Christmas star. Today there are more than 150 set pieces along the scenic Cane River Lake in the National Historic Landmark District. People from all over the region started coming to Natchitoches on the first Saturday in December, and the event has become a six-week-long Festival of Lights, which includes an annual Christmas Festival. The events are marked by spectacular fireworks displays.

Food booths became a mainstay during the holiday events when downtown Natchitoches restaurants could not keep up with the crowds. Most of these booths, then and now, featured the highly popular Natchitoches meat pie. Other types of food also became available, or as one festival-goer put it, “If it swims, flies, hops or crawls, you can find it there, deep-fried and on a stick.”

The Festival of Lights annually draws more than 500,000 visitors during November and December.