1st Hometown Christmas planned in McComb

McCOMB — McComb is stringing lights and hanging decorations in preparation for its first ever Hometown Christmas. The event will be held from 5-8 p.m. Dec. 3 in the downtown area. "The McComb Community Partnership wanted to give back to the community after the support we received from the cookie festival," said member Sarah Kryling. "We felt the momentum and excitement and wanted to build on that enthusiasm as we moved into the Christmas season and celebrate as a community. We'll hopefully start a new tradition." She said the cookie festival this summer was well received. "We felt like the community really embraced it and we had a lot of sponsors step up in the community and a lot of people come out, not only from McComb but from the surrounding area. And we wanted to keep it going," she said. The festivities will kick off with a welcome by Mayor Cathy Schroll and a tree lighting at 4:45 p.m. at Premier Bank, 124 E. Main St. "It's the biggest tree on Main Street," Kryling laughed. Voices of Harmony, an elite barbershop chorus based in Bowling Green, will provide music. Children will have the chance to decorate cookies at the McComb VFW Post 9231, 204 E. Main St., from 5-8 p.m. "What we're really excited about is we worked with so many local businesses and organizations to make it all happen," said Kryling. She said a group of women from St. John's Lutheran Church volunteered to make 300 cookies for the activity. A children's craft also will be available in the village administrator building. The Grinch and Cindy Lou Who will be available for photos from 6:30-7:30 p.m., said Kryling. "It will be such a magical experience for kids," she said. Meanwhile, Santa will hear children's wishes from 5:30-7 p.m. at the McComb Public Library, 113 S. Todd St. A Christmas market will be set up at 103 W. Main St. Kryling said 33 vendors will be selling their wares throughout the evening. Offerings will include baked goods, jewelry, clothing and home décor. "We really wanted to showcase our local vendors and makers," she said, noting that Joe Wasson provided space for the market in a former building that had housed part of Bennett's Furniture Town. Musical entertainment will be offered at the McComb Fire Department, 139 W. Main St. The McComb High School Jazz Band will play from 5-6 p.m., followed by the Lee Warren Band from 6-7 p.m. A DJ will play Christmas music along Main Street afterwards. There will be food trucks in town, and Panther Pizzeria will run specials that night. Kryling said the McComb United Methodist Church also stepped up and offered to use its school bus to transport people from the McComb School up to Main Street. "So if people don't want the hassle of trying to find a parking spot, they can go to the school and the bus will bring them from the school to Main Street," said Kryling. For those that may struggle getting onto the school bus, the partnership is collaborating with Hancock Area Transportation Services to provide rides as well, she said. All of the activities are free except for the food trucks and the Christmas Market. "We definitely viewed this as an outreach to the community when we were planning it," Kryling said. The community partnership has 12-15 members who began planning for the holiday event in late summer. Volunteers also spent time recently decorating Main Street. "We put a call out to the community for lights for decorating," she said. "Since this is our first year, we're just trying to light up Main Street as much as we can. We're putting lights on the awnings and we've had some donated decorations to put in grassy areas." Kryling said a decorated vintage Jeep truck will be available for family photographs. "We wanted this to be a really exciting event for our families, showcase our local vendors and makers, and just give something really fun for community this Christmas season," she said. "Christmas is an exciting thing to get behind and I think that people are very excited."