The Mitchell County Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring the third annual Mountain Christmas Trail of Lights starting Nov. 27 and invites the whole community to take part.
The month-long event invites local business and home owners to decorate their properties with lights.
Mitchell County Chamber Director Patti Jensen said this year, the community and local small businesses need the cheer.
“There is no minimum number of lights that anyone has to put up,” Jensen said. “We want everyone to participate at whatever level they can. Our goal is to have every spot along Highway 226 from Bakersville to the Blue Ridge Parkway lit up and then add in all the side streets and downtowns. If everyone does a little at their business or home, then we will create a wonderful gift of the trail of lights for our community.”
The Chamber asks that participants have their lights up by Nov. 27, just in time to celebrate small businesses on Small Business Saturday.
“This has been a hard year for our local businesses, making this holiday season even more important for local citizens to support local businesses,” Jensen said. “We hope our community will come out Thanksgiving weekend and throughout the holiday season to support our local businesses and make this a “Shop Local” Christmas.”
Anyone who wants to participate in the Trail of Lights is asked to contact the Chamber at 765-9033 to have their address added to the online map. Participants can also email pjensen@mitchellcountychamber.org or message the Mitchell County Chamber Facebook page.
There is a $250 prize for the best home and business displays. To enter, participants should email a photo or video of their light display.
“The first year, we toured the lights with our panel of judges from the Mitchell County Senior Center and had such a wonderful time,” Jensen said. “In an effort to protect everyone last year, we weren’t able to do that, but we did let the public vote with their “likes” on our Facebook page. That turned out to be a great solution and one that everyone could have a vote in.
Photos will be posted to the A Mountain Christmas Trail of Lights Facebook page where the public will be invited to vote. Photos must be submitted by Dec. 10.
A Mountain Christmas Trail of Lights also promotes all the local holiday events.
“Our goal when we began this project was to have holiday events taking place throughout the county every week from Thanksgiving to Christmas and with the help of community members and organizations, we were able to do that,” Jensen said.
Holiday events will be posted on the Mountain Christmas Trail of Lights website and shared on its Facebook page. Churches, schools and other organizations can submit event details at amountainchristmastrailoflights.com.
“This event is both a gift to our own community from each one that participates and a gift to visitors who want to come and enjoy a drive through our county to see the lights, enjoy a nice lunch or dinner in a local restaurant, shop for gifts at our local stores and choose the perfect Christmas tree at a local tree farm,” Jensen said. “It’s a simple, easy way for each of us to do a little and give a wonderful gift to our community this year.”