The Mitchell County Chamber of Commerce has Christmas on their minds these days. The Chamber is excited to announce a new community event for the 2019 Holiday season, A Mountain Christmas Trail of Lights. The Trail of Lights will go from the Blue Ridge Parkway to Bakersville and beyond, beginning November 30th and ending on New Year’s Eve.
“This project has been something we have been talking about for a year,” said Patti Jensen, Executive Director of the Mitchell County Chamber of Commerce. “We began discussing holiday plans with local organizations and leaders and focused on two things,” said Jensen. “There really wasn’t much planned in the county after the first weekend in December and we knew that if we could build out the month with holiday events, we could not only create a great holiday experience for Mitchell County families but also create an opportunity to bring more people into Mitchell County to shop with our local businesses.”
The Chamber is inviting all businesses, homes and churches along Hwy 226 from the Blue Ridge Parkway to Bakersville as well as businesses in downtown Spruce Pine and Bakersville to sign on to decorate their homes, yards or buildings with lights this year. They aren’t stopping there though, as they are inviting neighborhoods to get together and decorate as well to be added to the trail as extensions. The trail will go from the Blue Ridge Parkway on Hwy 226 to Spruce Pine, travel down Summit Avenue then through downtown, back out Roan Road to pick up 226 N to Bakersville. The Chamber will be providing a prize to the light display judged as the Best of the Mountain Christmas Trail this year!
In addition, the Chamber will be putting together a full calendar of events for the holidays and is asking for local organizations, businesses and churches who are hosting a holiday event to send their information as soon as possible to the Chamber at [email protected]. “Our hope is that we can create a Holiday Calendar of Events that is packed full of things for locals and visitors to do as well as encourage people to create new holiday events this year from Thanksgiving until New Years,” said Jensen. The Chamber has met with several interested people from across the county to begin the holiday planning and some are already planning new events. “We are excited to see everyone’s enthusiasm for the trail and for new event ideas,” said Jensen.
The Chamber is asking the public to follow the Facebook page for A Mountain Christmas Trail of Lights and begin to help spread the word. A new website for the project is live and offers information on the trail, dozens of holiday events and more information for planning for the holidays. Visit www.amountainchristmastrailoflights.com.
“The Trail of Lights is a way for our community to come together to celebrate the holiday season and to offer it as a gift to our citizens and visitors,” said Jensen. “We hope that this is the start of something special for our county that will continue to grow for years to come.”