The Spirit of Christmas is Alive and Well in Zionsville
November 2019
In less than a week, Zionsville residents and guests of our town will be able to step into a figurative painting of Christmas as the heart of the village—downtown Zionsville—transforms itself into a nostalgic masterpiece evoking all things holiday and magical.
As the members of the Zionsville Christmas in the Village (CIV) planning committee have already been working feverishly to create the annual menu of holiday activities, we checked in with CIV chair Erica Carpenter, owner of Fivethirty Home and Zionsville Chamber of Commerce board member, to see what’s new this year and what residents and visitors can anticipate throughout the entire CIV experience that officially kicks off on Saturday, November 30, with the annual Christmas in the Village Parade.
“We are partnering with a Zionsville-based company and chamber member, Second Nature Landscapes, whose winter business is holiday decor and lighting,” Carpenter shared. “They’re going to decorate around and professionally light Santa’s house. Santa’s house will include a full-size mailbox for letters to Santa. Second Nature will also be professionally decorating and lighting the tree at Pine and Main streets.”
Carpenter also shared that the chamber and the town’s street department are collaborating on an initiative that will hopefully become a long-standing tradition. “We [chamber and street department] will be hanging wreathes on the lampposts from the start of the business district on North Main Street all the way through South Main Street to 106th Street. The planters will be updated for the winter months as well.”
While it is a condensed holiday season due to how the holidays fall this year, Carpenter ensured that all of the popular events, such as the Christmas Crawl, will be part of this year’s CIV calendar of events along with a new addition, “Santa on the Move.”
Santa on the Move will be visiting a couple of local businesses before heading over to the Santa House. It’s a secret until the day of, but the Zionsville Chamber of Commerce has filmed some “clues” that will be posted to social media in the days leading up to those events. The morning of, Santa will reveal the location he’ll be at for the day, before arriving at the Santa House.
“The parade is on November 30 at 5 p.m. this year, and the theme is ‘Jingle Bells,’” Carpenter said. “At the end of the parade, we let everybody get situated and then move down to Main and Pine [streets] for the tree lighting with Santa. We do a little countdown and flip the giant light switch, and then Zionsville is officially ready for Christmas.”
Carpenter thanked the main sponsors of this year’s Christmas in the Village—Duke Energy, N.K. Hurst Co., Inc. and Second Nature Landscapes—for their sponsorships and incredible support of the town’s most beloved holiday traditions.
Speaking of thanks, Santa Claus himself took a few minutes of what was left of his vacation to interview with our publication and offered his deep appreciation for all the planning committee is doing to prepare for CIV and for the awesome upgrades that are being done to his house.
“The news is so wonderful, and it makes me feel right at home,” Claus said. “All of these people are certainly going on the ‘nice’ list for putting all this together without Santa even knowing about it! And without me having to encourage them to do something nice.”
When asked what we should be focusing on this holiday season, Claus reminded us, “We need to focus on how much it means to have friends and family and togetherness. It’s part of the atmosphere that makes the season that it is and what it should be. Santa is just so excited about the season of giving, but giving doesn’t just mean gifts—it means giving of your heart to other people.”
For a complete list of Christmas in the Village activities, including when Santa is in residence at his house on Main Street, visit zionsvillechamber.org. Also, follow the events on the Zionsville Chamber of Commerce Facebook page and be sure to take photos, tag and share with the chamber and Zionsville Monthly!
Writer:
Janelle Morrison
Photography:
Courtesy of the Zionsville Chamber of Commerce and Tell the Story Photography