FREEPORT – Julie Yeo of Durham will have the full attention of children and their parents on Saturday, Dec. 6, when she shows them how to make holiday ornaments and other crafts in the Kids Department at L.L. Bean.

Yeo’s presentation is among the many activities that will attract thousands to Freeport for FreeportUSA’s annual Sparkle Celebration, which begins at 5 p.m. Friday with a musical holiday light show at the L.L. Bean Christmas tree. The town will literally glow at 6 with the Parade of Lights down Main Street, and Yeo’s demonstration starts off a big schedule of events on Saturday.

Yeo, a former school art teacher, contracts with companies to do demonstrations such as the one she will do at Bean. She does them throughout the year, but looks forward to the Sparkle show.

“It’s huge, and with this fresh snow outside, it feels like the holidays are kicking in,” Yeo said last Friday. “There’s a lot going on at Sparkle weekend. It’s sort of a destination.”

Yeo said she will show the children how to make finger puppets, wooden beads and other crafts made from natural materials.

“I try to use things people can find at their homes,” she said. “I’m pretty much a maker. That’s what keeps me going.”

Yeo brings a friend with her to help, which, she said, comes in handy when she is presenting to 20 people at a time.

“It’s a blast,” she said. “I think everybody is kind of a maker inside.”

Yeo’s demonstrations are not overly complex – they only take about 10 minutes each, in fact.

That impresses Laurie Gilman, retail store events coordinator for L.L. Bean.

“She makes something that looks very complicated simple to make,” Gilman said. “Kids and parents sit down and they’ve got this great craft to take home in 10 minutes. She’s fabulous. She’s just amazing.”

Gilman said that Yeo’s presentation normally takes about two hours, until around noon. It draws quite a crowd.

“It’s usually full pretty much the entire time,” she said. “She’s just right out straight for the entire two hours.”

Santa, the L.L. Bean Bootmobile, fire trucks, police cars, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and more will march in the Parade of Lights. At the conclusion, Santa will bring in the popular Talking Christmas Tree, which will be set up in front of Linda Bean’s Maine Kitchen & Topside Tavern on Main Street throughout the month. Volunteers give the tree its voice, delighting people as they walk by it.

The Sparkle Celebration also has something for people who like to go out and see a show. Freeport Players, the community theater group, will present “WFCP Telethon” at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and at 2 p.m. Sunday, at the Freeport Performing Arts Center, which adjoins Freeport High School. “WFCP Telethon,” a spoof of mass-media fundraising from pledge drives to telethons, features musical, comedy, and dance acts mixed with comedy from the Freeport Players ensemble.

The musical holiday light show is a regular feature throughout the month at the L.L. Bean Christmas tree, from 5-9 p.m.

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SPARKLE CELEBRATION

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The schedule of events for the annual Sparkle Celebration in Freeport:

Friday, Dec. 5

5-9 p.m., musical holiday light show, L.L. Bean Christmas tree.

6 p.m., Parade of Lights. Main Street. Concludes with Santa bringing Freeport’s Talking Christmas Tree to life.

6:30-8 p.m., Santa comes to L.L. Bean; free hot cocoa on the L.L. Bean patio.

6:30-8 p.m., Talking Christmas Tree, corner of Main and Bow streets.

7:30 p.m., “WFCP Telethon,” variety show by Freeport Players, Freeport Performing Arts Center.

Saturday, Dec. 6

10 a.m.-noon, holiday ornaments and craft projects with Maine artist Julie Yeo, L.L. Bean Flagship Store, Kids Department.

10 a.m.-4 p.m., Freeport’s Talking Christmas Tree, corner of Main and Bow streets.

11 a.m., holiday music with local students in American Sign Language, L.L. Bean Flagship Store.

11 a.m.-2 p.m., book signing with Russ Cox and Lynne Plourde, L.L. Bean Flagship Store.

11:30 a.m., 1, 2 and 3:30 p.m., holiday caroling, L.L. Bean Flagship Store.

2 p.m., worldwide tuba concert, Freeport Performing Arts Center.

Noon-3 p.m., Sparkle Express Mini Fest, featuring visits from Santa and Freeport businesses selling holiday gift items, beverages and treats, Train & Information Center, 23 Depot St.

1-7 p.m., free old-fashioned, horse-drawn wagon rides, in front of L.L. Bean Flagship Store.

2 p.m., Sparkle Express on the Amtrak Downeaster, sold out.

5-9 p.m., musical holiday light show, L.L. Bean Christmas tree.

7:30 p.m., “WFCP Telethon,” variety show by Freeport Players, Freeport Performing Arts Center.

Sunday, Dec. 7

10 a.m., Jingle Bell Run/Walk for Arthritis, Mast Landing School.

10 a.m.-4 p.m., Talking Christmas Tree, corner of Main and Bow streets.

11 a.m.-3 p.m., kids face painting, L.L. Bean Flagship Store, Kids Department.

1-3 p.m., book signing, Tom Hennessey, L.L. Bean Flagship Store.

1-7 p.m., free old-fashioned, horse-drawn wagon rides, in front of L.L. Bean Flagship Store.

2-4 p.m., visits with Santa, Wilbur’s of Maine Chocolate Factory.

2 p.m., “WFCP Telethon,” variety show by Freeport Players, Freeport Performing Arts Center.

5-9 p.m., musical holiday light show, L.L. Bean Christmas tree.

The tree at L.L. Bean is aglow following the tree-lighting events Nov. 21.