Mount Blanchard puts on a festive face

MOUNT BLANCHARD — Santa Claus would feel right at home in Mount Blanchard. Even though the annual Christmas in the Village celebration was again canceled this year due to COVID-19, members of the Beautification Committee and others in the community have spent 80 to 100 hours making sure the downtown area still looks as festive as the North Pole. "Unfortunately, we had to cancel the event this year because of the pandemic, but it was still important to our group to decorate," said Jackie Porcello, one of the founding members of the committee. "We wanted our village to look nice. We're proud of what we've been able to do here, and people like it." From Santa's House where the windows are filled with stuffed animals to wooden cutouts of toy soldiers standing at attention along Main Street, the village has put on its best Christmas face. Visitors will also get the chance to see the newly refurbished snowflake decorations that were recently completed by Riverdale High School junior Benjamin Necker for his Eagle Scout project. "I have two favorite days in the village," said Porcello. "I say the day the pool opens and the day that the snowflakes go up. Those are my two favorite days all year here." The committee got its start 10 or 11 years ago when a group of residents hosted a Halloween parade and pumpkin festival. "That group kind of fizzled out, so this group was really interested in Christmas," said Porcello. "The Christmas thing was our thing." The inaugural Christmas in the Village in 2012 featured tours of five homes and two churches along with horse-drawn wagon rides, a relay race and Santa arriving on a firetruck. The group took the name the Beautification Committee. "We talked about being a historical group or restoration. Basically, though, we just wanted to do some things like painting and do things like that to improve the village. But the main thing when we started was to get to do the Christmas tours and the Christmas in the Village," Porcello said. Back then, the group had only a few donated decorations. "So every time we went to do something, we had to buy another extension cord or we had to buy some more lights or we had to buy replacement bulbs. So it was a lot different than it is now, where we have a lot of things to choose from that we've gathered over the years," she said. In 2016, a gazebo was built in Hurricane Park at the south end of town. That has become a focus for the group's decorating efforts. That same year, lamp posts were installed downtown. These are decorated with lights, greenery and red bows. Porcello said the village's participation in the Heart & Soul program from 2017-19 revealed just how much Mount Blanchard residents enjoyed their holiday festivities. "When we did the Heart & Soul interviews which focus on what matters most in the community, we heard from so many people how important Christmas in the Village was and the decorating and it really helped with community spirit," she said. One of the highlights with the younger crowd is visiting with Santa. "Santa also comes and listens to children's wishes which is, I mean, a wonderful, wonderful thing," said Karen Beard, who joined the committee four years ago. "The kids love that. The line is down the street for sitting on Santa's lap. But last year of course, because of the pandemic, and this year we just were concerned that it would get worse and it has so we're not doing that." Santa's House is located in a refurbished building downtown and features an old-fashioned sleigh from the 1800s. Santa gets letters from the children, too. "He hears a lot of heartfelt messages from the kids that are very touching. Some of the things they want are health for family members and homes and things a lot of us take for granted," said Porcello. The women said the community has always rallied around the event. "And a lot of people come home. It's like a homecoming, a family homecoming," Porcello said. Fundraisers are held to support the event and purchase new items. Donation jars are set out around town. The committee also sells Amish-made pies for Thanksgiving. This year, 400 pies were sold. The women said no one is more disappointed than the committee at not being able to host Christmas in the Village this year. "We really love it and love all the activity that happens," said Beard. "And we love seeing all the kids and how they just have so much fun seeing Santa. It's really wonderful."