34th annual christmas in carlinville
IT’S “CHRISTMAS IN CARLINVILLE” DECEMBER 6th - 8th
CARLINVILLE- For more than thirty years, the first weekend of December in Carlinville has been a destination for holiday shoppers and festival enthusiasts in search of small-town holiday magic. This year, every location throughout the community will be uniting under one common name in the spirit of community unity- “Christmas in Carlinville.”
“For several years there have been different locations with different names and identities,” said Doug Downey, Chairman of the Carlinville Tourism committee. “If there was one thing we heard repeatedly, it’s that all of the different identities were confusing for the folks coming to town.”
Christmas in Carlinville will take place December 6th-8th and will cover locations throughout Carlinville to ensure that every corner of the business community is highlighted and promoted. Locations include the historic Downtown Square, the Macoupin County Fairgrounds, the Macoupin County Courthouse, the Macoupin County Historical Society, the Carlinville Elks Lodge, and the Carlinville Moose Lodge.
To ensure festive and timely transportation between the locations, the City of Carlinville Tourism Committee chipped in to cover the cost of a trolley to transport shoppers around the community on Friday and Saturday.
“We have so many great and established Christmas festival locations taking place on the same weekend that it only made sense to bring everyone together and to be on the same page,” said Carlinville Mayor Sarah Oswald. “I believe that this encompasses the feeling in Carlinville right now- everyone putting differences aside for the long-term benefit of the community. It gives me so much hope for the future of Carlinville!”
Visitors can expect everything they’ve grown to love about Christmas in Carlinville weekend over the years: tents with craft vendors downtown around the historic square, an endless lineup of vendors inside at the Macoupin County Fairgrounds, the Carlinville Elks Lodge, the Carlinville Moose Lodge, tours of the courthouse decorated for the holidays, merchants at the Macoupin County Historical Society, and many additional businesses and boutiques around town.
“It’s a very exciting time in Carlinville right now,” said Executive Director for the Carlinville Chamber of Commerce Brian Zilm. “Christmas in Carlinville is just the latest example of progress. Amazing things happen when a community works together, and Christmas in Carlinville is absolutely going to be an amazing weekend in the city of Carlinville.”
Further information for Christmas in Carlinville can be found on Facebook.com/ChristmasInCarlinville.
Video and photo credit to Tyson Geninatti
Recap video of 2016 events:
(by Iron Hills Productions in Carlinville, IL)