Midvale event set for Dec. 14
Members of the Midvale Methodist Church in 2023 in their Christmas clothing
Everyone is invited to wear their finest Victorian-style clothing when the Midvale Old Fashioned Christmas event returns Dec. 14 from 3-6 p.m. A collaboration between the Village of Midvale and the Midvale Methodist Church, the event will provide opportunities for holiday fun.
This is the fourth year for the event, which will be held entirely on State Street in front of the Midvale Methodist Church. The street will be blocked off for the festival. Everyone participating will be on the street and visible to those attending. One of the reasons for the move was a lack of space for those visiting with Santa in Village Hall, which made it more difficult for all the children who wanted to visit.
“We’ve added more this year, and we’re going to try to add some more things to it each year,” said Randy Cadle, a member of the event committee.
There will be much to do, but most important is the visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus, who will attend the festival and greet guests from 3:30-5:30 p.m. Parents will be able to take photos of their children’s visit with Santa. Other activities include games and music with a tree lighting at 6 p.m.
“Our choir will start at the steps at right before 5:30 p.m., and then we’ll have music in the church from 5:30-6 p.m., and then we’ll walk across the street and do the lighting. Missy Metcalf will be speaking for a few minutes about growing up in Midvale,” said Cadle, also a member of the Midvale Methodist Church.
Visitors should be prepared to do some Christmas shopping with the addition of some new vendors.
“There’ll be six crafters setting up this year,” Cadle said.
Also being planned are lots of goodies for the children.
“The town is doing pizza and candy bags for the kids, and Santa will be handing out candy bars,” Cadle said.
Midvale Methodist Church will serve hot dogs, coffee, hot cider, soft drinks and water. First Baptist Church of New Philadelphia will serve popcorn. The Lions Club will have cookies and hot chocolate.
Colwell Flowers, Sweet Rain BBQ food truck and Risher’s Homemade Ice Cream also will be at the event. Caricature drawings will be available for a donation.
The Tuscarawas County Health Department will participate, along with other nonprofit groups including Minding Midvale’s History and Midvale’s Meeting of the Minds group, which helps individuals and families battle addiction.
April Linard, Claymont High School band director, will perform inside the church during the festival and at the lighting ceremony.
There will be vehicles on display from different organizations including the Dennison Fire Department, and a disc jockey will play Christmas music. The Midvale Police Department will participate.
Visitors to the event are growing each year, and there are people from outside of Midvale attending.
“We’ve had a lot of people and a lot of people who are not from town who came and said they really enjoyed it,” Cadle said. “They enjoyed the music, the street lighting and all the different vendors they could go to. We’ve had a lot of positive comments.”
Much work and cooperation go into putting Midvale Old Fashioned Christmas on each year.
“It’s a good event and one that the village and church work together on,” Cadle said. “I think it’s going to be a nice event for the village.”