Although the holiday spirit made its way into my home two weeks ago when I played a Christmas music concert in Columbus, Nebraska, it is planting its red and green flag in Jessamine County this Friday and Saturday.

I’m happy to see it, and I’m sure that many others in the community are as well.

One thing that I have learned about Jessamine County in my abbreviated, yet very much enjoyed, term at the Jessamine Journal is that the communities in this county still like to come together for community events, festivals and holiday celebrations that raise the communities up above the formal lines of school districts and governmental jurisdictions.

It is the very same community spirit that keeps small towns alive and thriving. Despite its growth and expansion, Nicholasville has managed to retain much of its small-town sense and charm. I noticed that right away, and that’s one of the key reasons that I have enjoyed working here so much.

What else can be said about Wilmore? That is one small town that revels in that very identity. I love it over there even more each time I visit!

Living and conducting business in such an area is, in my humble opinion, a Christmas gift that all citizens receive year round. You can see it on the faces (at least the ones with no paint or masks) on Main Street during Spooky Time On Main, at the fairgrounds for Jessamine County Fair or standing outside Tara Hall’s wonderful Family Center in Wilmore as a parade marches through.

Smiles, laughter and a sense of safety at gatherings are perhaps the greatest perks that any community can promote to visitors, because a great number of the sprawling cities across this nation don’t offer a lot of those anymore.

I look forward to seeing more of those smiles and hearing more of that laughter over the next few weekends as I take in Wilmore’s Old-Fashioned Christmas, as well as the fourth-annual St. “Nich” Fest, which I was informed by Jessamine County Public Library’s head honcho Ron Critchfield at the Rotary meeting on Monday was named for me.

I know that Ron was pulling my leg, of course, and simply stroking my ego to make sure that I am on hand to snap his photo after he wins the library’s Buddy the Elf Costume Contest as part of the festival. Just win the contest, sir, and I will be there!

Speaking of the St. “Nich” Fest, I want to thank Chamber Director Ronda May for all of the work she put into not only getting this the day planned out and off the ground, but getting us the material for the tab that you received with this issue. Not only did she fix all of our readers up with a comprehensive schedule, she prepared it for me while serenading myself and her assistant, Shannon Harris, with her rendition of “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year.”

Indeed.

Welcome back, Christmas season, it’s good to see you again!

Thank you to all of the wonderful people who helped me latch onto the world of Jessamine County, Kentucky over the past year-plus. I’ve enjoyed every week of it. Stay small town, stay local and stay you.

That’s a really fine thing to be.

Nick Hon is the editor of The Jessamine Journal and Jessamine Life magazine. He can be reached at nick.hon@jessaminejournal.com.