Bigger, brighter and better-than-ever are the high expectations for next weekend's "A Huntersville Christmas" next weekend
With a title sponsor for the first time, the 15-year-old holiday season celebration, which will be held Saturday, Dec. 10, from 5 to 8 p.m., will transform the downtown area into a winter wonderland filled with rides, food, entertainment and a festive atmosphere that organizers expect will set a new standard for the town's annual event.
Sierra Davenport, recreation coordinator for the Huntersville Parks and Recreation Department and the person charged with organizing this year's celebration, says the addition of Priority Honda as the title sponsor, and the support from a long list of other local businesses, has provided this year's Christmas gala with enough umphh and pizzazz to satisfy the most persnickety of holiday partiers. In fact, Davenport believes if the event gets any bigger, it will outgrow its one-day-only format.
"We've added plenty of new attractions and each year the crowd gets a little bigger," says Davenport, who is in her fourth year as a Huntersville Christmas organizer. "For several years, the attendance was right around 2,500, but last year it was closer to 3,500 and we're expecting that many or more this year."
Davenport says regular surveys of the crowd indicate that, in addition to strong representation from Huntersville, A Huntersville Christmas has also grown into a tradition for residents of Cornelius, Davidson, Charlotte as well as many out-of-town family members and guests in town for pre-Christmas visits.
A Huntersville Christmas is a combination celebration and community giving event that provides fun for the entire family and the opportunity to help neighbors in need. Two collections — a food drive to benefit the Angels and Sparrows Soup Kitchen in Huntersville and a toy drive sponsored by the Huntersville Police Department — will be promoted throughout the evening. Specially decorated boxes located throughout the downtown area will serve as drop-off points for canned food, gallon-size tea bags and other non-perishable items for the Angels and Sparrows facility. And unwrapped toys for children in the community can be dropped off at the Huntersville Police Station, which will also host story time with Mrs. Claus.
An expanded snow park with slides will be a main attraction for the event along with an assortment of other attractions radiating from the intersection of Old Statesville and Gilead roads.
The list of attractions, according to Davenport, will include a carousel — made possible, she explains, directly through Priority Honda's title sponsorship — along with pony rides, a ferris wheel, clown bounce, swing rides, hayrides and train rides. Face painting and letter writing to Santa will also be among the available activities.
For older children and teens, and even adults still plenty young at heart, there will be a rock climbing wall and a bonfire at the caboose/Huntersville Farmers' Market location.
Crafts will be organized by Discovery Place KIDS at Town Center, there will be opportunities to join in with the jugglers and eager children will have the chance to meet Santa at the Huntersville Fire Department.
Among the special features at this year's event will be Mrs. Claus, who will read popular holiday stories at her station at the police department and a magic show at 6 and 7 p.m. at Huntersville Town Hall. Radio Disney will also be on-site with a live remote broadcast.
Bill Turner, author of The Christmas That Almost Wasn't, will hold a book signing at the fire department and Huntersville Presbyterian Church will perform a live nativity scene at 5:30, 6:15 and 7 p.m.
On the main performance stage between the parking garage and the fire department, various groups will provide entertainment throughout the evening. Groups scheduled to take part include The Huntersville Elementary Chorus, Blythe Elementary Chorus, Torrence Creek Elementary's Show Biz Kids and Independence Hill Baptist Church with ongoing demonstrations by Terpsichore's Dance Centre. The finale will include a performance by the teen band Elia at 7:10 p.m.
Parking will be available at Huntersville Elementary School, Huntersville Presbyterian, First Baptist Church of Huntersville, Huntersville Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, and the parking deck at Town Center, which will only be accessible off Gilead Road. During the event, roads in the downtown section — including Old Statesville Road and Huntersville-Concord Road — will be blocked off to transform the multi-block celebration into a pedestrian-friendly affair.
There will be a variety of vendors with crafts, holiday gifts and snacks spread out throughout the festival and several restaurants at the center of the celebration — Lupie's, Cafe 100 and Mama Mia's — will be open.
Decorations began going up this week as part of the transformation process to welcome the Christmas festival, and Davenport and the rest of the organizers expect to stay busy as elves right through next Saturday's celebration.
"It is coming together as a really great event," Davenport says, "and the support from the community continues to make it bigger and more special each year. Like I said, if it gets any bigger, we may not be able to do it all in one day."
In addition to Priority Honda, other sponsors for this year's community Christmas celebration include CMC Huntersville, Discovery Place KIDS, Radio Disney, Tom Johnson Camping Center, Guignard Properties, ElectriCities, Brian's Dog House Grill, Huntersville Eye Care Center, Ballas Chiropractic, Presbyterian Hospital, Blue Harbor Bank, The Learning Experience, Terpsichore's Dance Center, Marc Allen Orthodontics, the Lake Norman Citizen and The Herald Weekly.
