Victorian Christmas, a holiday tradition, returns in Thomasville starting this Thursday.
Over 30,000 visitors are expected across the two-night event, with preparations happening a full year in advance. Families can enjoy live entertainment, fire performers, train rides, horse-drawn carriages, marshmallow roasting, and visits with St. Nick. Watch the video below to see how Victorian Christmas began and how it became one of Thomasvilles strongest economic and cultural traditions. Victorian Christmas returns for its 39th year
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Thomasvilles biggest winter event is back, and there is no shortage of things to do.
Yes, so we have a lot of our favorites returning, such as South Georgia Ballet. Our local bands will be performing. We’ll have the fire performers, the magician, the horse, and carriage rides, train rides, said Brandy Avery, the community engagement manager.
Avery says with only three hours each night to do all of that, neighbors should check out the event map, so they dont miss any of the activities spread across downtown.
We’re also going to have the live reindeer that are returning this year, so that’s been a crowd favorite in the past. What’s the logistics with that? They come from the North Pole, said Avery.
The city has been preparing for an entire year and expects more than 30,000 visitors over the two nights many coming from out of town to experience this Thomasville tradition.
But how did it all start?
History Center curator Ephraim Rotter says Victorian Christmas began as downtowns across the country were struggling because big-box stores and new roads were pulling customers away.
As you get into the 1980s, Thomasville was looking at ways to revive its downtown, and that included starting to do some restorations, taking off some of the glass and steel fronts that were put in during the 1940s, 50s, 60s. And all of a sudden, downtown started to look a little bit more like it did during the Victorian era, said Rotter.
So once downtown started looking Victorian again, it became the perfect moment to lean into that history and create something families could enjoy together.
And so that’s where the idea of Victorian Christmas popped up. We will have this big event downtown that will bring in thousands of people. Shops will stay open and something to get people to come to downtown Thomasville, said Rotter.
Ephraim tells me the History Center will also take over the entire Courthouse Square with 200-years-of-history slideshows, a vintage Model T you can take photos in, and other rare artifacts on Thursday.
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