NATCHITOCHES, La. — Natchitoches Christmas is pleased to announce that LSU Women’s Basketball Head Coach Kim Mulkey will serve as Celebrity Captain of the 2026 Natchitoches Christmas “Festival of Lights” Parade on Saturday, December 5, in downtown Natchitoches.
Mulkey will help lead the 1 p.m. parade as Natchitoches celebrates the 100th Natchitoches Christmas Festival, marking a century of one of Louisiana’s most beloved holiday traditions.
Her appearance comes during a special weekend for women’s basketball in Natchitoches. The LSU Tigers will face the Northwestern State Lady Demons on Sunday, December 6, at Prather Coliseum on the campus of Northwestern State University.
“We are incredibly excited to welcome Coach Mulkey and the LSU Women’s Basketball team to Natchitoches during such a historic year for our Christmas Festival,” said Sandra Dickens, Natchitoches Christmas Board Chair. “When we learned LSU would be in Natchitoches for the game against Northwestern State, we knew this was a unique opportunity. Coach Mulkey is one of the most recognizable figures in Louisiana sports, and having her help lead our parade as we celebrate 100 years of Christmas makes an already special weekend even more memorable.”
Mulkey also shares a special connection with Natchitoches through the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame, where she was inducted in 1990 following her standout playing career at Louisiana Tech. The Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame is housed at the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and Northwest Louisiana History Museum in downtown Natchitoches.
A native of Tickfaw, Louisiana, Mulkey has built one of the most accomplished careers in college basketball. She is the only person in college basketball history, men’s or women’s, to win national championships as a player, assistant coach and head coach. As a player at Louisiana Tech, Mulkey helped the Lady Techsters capture national championships in 1981 and 1982 and later helped the program win another national title as an assistant coach in 1988. As a head coach, she won three NCAA national championships at Baylor before returning to Louisiana to lead LSU, where she guided the Tigers to the program’s first NCAA Women’s Basketball National Championship in 2023.
“I am thrilled to have the opportunity to lead the historic Natchitoches Christmas ‘Festival of Lights’ parade as the state of Louisiana celebrates this great tradition for the 100th time,” Mulkey said. “I’m always looking to give back to the state I love whenever I can. The opportunity presented itself, and I accepted. I look forward to seeing everyone on December 5 and, once more, at Prather Coliseum on December 6. We are excited to make our time in Natchitoches a memorable one.”
The December 6 matchup will bring LSU Women’s Basketball to Northwestern State’s Prather Coliseum, adding another major event to Natchitoches’ centennial Christmas weekend. Natchitoches Christmas also extends its appreciation to Northwestern State Head Coach Alan Frey, who helped make Coach Mulkey’s participation possible by personally extending the invitation for her to serve as Celebrity Captain.
“Bringing an elite program here to play us is exciting enough but having Coach Mulkey agree to be the Celebrity Captain in Saturday’s parade makes this an unforgettable weekend for Natchitoches basketball fans,” Frey said. “I want to thank Kim for saying yes to the ask and giving our community a great show on the parade route before our historic matchup on Sunday.”
The 2026 Natchitoches Christmas “Festival of Lights” Parade will begin at 1 p.m. Saturday, December 5, traveling from the Northwestern State University campus through the Natchitoches Historic District.
The parade is part of the 100th Natchitoches Christmas Festival, which will feature a full day of activities in downtown Natchitoches, including entertainment, arts and crafts, food vendors and the festival’s signature fireworks celebration over Cane River Lake.
For additional information about the 100th Natchitoches Christmas Festival, visit NatchitochesChristmas.com.