Santa poses with Miss Emerald Ridge Outstanding Teen Carolina Princess HaLeigh Silvers during the recent Spruce Pine Southern Christmas Show.
Soggy conditions didn’t prevent patrons from taking care of their holiday shopping and getting in the Christmas spirit during the third annual Spruce Pine Southern Christmas Show earlier this month in the Cross Street Commerce Center.
More than 60 local craft vendors and artists set up at the show, selling wares ranging from baked goods to homemade crafts and more. Several local non-profits, including the Mountaineer Shriners, sold goods to raise money for their causes.
The Shriners, in particular, sold out of all their grilled hamburgers, hotdogs and sides as they raised money for their cause through the food sales.
Santa was on hand to greet guests and pose for photos. Representatives from Miss Emerald Ridge were also in attendance.
The Southern Christmas Show debuted in 2020 amid the ongoing pandemic. At that time, organizer Sherry Sautner touted the idea of throwing the show to support merchants who struggled during pandemic shutdowns.
Sautner envisions the show getting bigger each year, with her eventual goal being to draw 10,000 to 20,000 people to Spruce Pine for the annual show.
Aside from the Christmas Show, Sautner and her outfit Spruce Pine Southern Shows put on several other seasonal events throughout the year including a Scarecrow Festival in the fall and an Easter Craft and Garden Show in the spring.
“We need to start branching out and thinking of new ways to stimulate our economy here,” Sautner said. “As an event coordinator, I get the most joy out of watching the happy faces and hearing the buzz of conversation in the room.”
In addition to supporting the vendors who set up at the show, Sautner likes that local events lead to more people spending money locally before and after the events.
“Events like these are one of the ways we can help our county,” she said. “Every dollar spent from visitors fuels the growth of our small town.”