If you have not been to downtown Newberry in the evenings, then you are truly missing out on some magic.

Each evening, you will find festive decorations and Christmas spirit, and on Friday between the hours of 6 p.m. and 8 p.m., you can experience “North Pole Nights.” Snow is in the forecast for Memorial Park on Fridays through Dec. 30.

In addition to playing in the snowfall, children of all ages can meet Santa and have their picture taken by a professional photographer at a nominal cost. We thank the City of Newberry for making these enchanting evenings possible for residents and visitors alike.

As a compliment to “North Pole Nights,” your Chamber and Stokes-Trainor are bringing “Santa’s Workshop” to the lower portico of Community Hall. On Dec. 2, Dec. 9, and Dec. 16, children can make a craft between the hours of 6 p.m. and 8 p.m.

Inside the Chamber/Visitors Center, Mrs. Claus will be present to read a story to the children at 6:30 p.m., then again at 7 p.m. We thank Chappell’s Nursery for providing the Christmas tree this year. Elementary art students from Boundary Street Elementary, Newberry Elementary, and homeschoolers made and loaned us the ornaments on the tree, and we could not be more proud of them. We love the children’s creativity, so be sure to stop in and see them anytime we are open.

Hopefully you were able to take in a parade or two this past weekend. Newberry’s was Saturday while Prosperity’s was Sunday.

Whitmire’s parade is at 1 p.m. Saturday. While there, be sure to visit the South Carolina Bottle Museum and do some Christmas shopping.

Later on Saturday, take in the Christmas Tour of Homes from 4 p.m. until 8 p.m. For $20 you can see four private homes and ARP Church of Newberry decorated in all of their holiday splendor. Tickets can be purchased from the Chamber of Commerce or the Newberry Opera House. I love to see how other people decorate, so this is perfect event for folks like me.

Unrelated to the holidays, I was a guest on WKDK’s coffee hour on the morning of Dec. 5 as I am every first Tuesday of the month. Afterwards, I hosted Coffee & Commerce at 10 a.m. at the Chamber. This is a newer program that will occur on the first Tuesday of even months and will cover a couple of specific topics as well as any other items attendees wish to discuss.

Dec. 5’s topic was “Chamber 101 and How We Work for You.”

We would love to have you visit us on the first floor of Community Hall in downtown Newberry at 1209 Caldwell St. or hear from you at 803-276-4274.

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Michelle Long

Contributing Columnist

Michelle Long is executive director of the Newberry Chamber of Commerce. Contact her at michelle@newberrycounty.org.