Christmas
Town, USA
McAdenville, North Carolina
The
Christmas Town Tradition
Since 1956
The
quiet little town of
McAdenville
, which lies along the
South
Fork
River
in
Gaston County
,
N.C.
, comes alive in
spectacular fashion each year as Christmas draws near.
Almost overnight, the small textile town is transformed into “
Christmas Town
,
USA
.”
In
1956, the McAdenville Men’s Club conceived the idea of using lights to
decorate a few trees around the
McAdenville
Community Center
.
With the permission of town officials and Mr. W. J. Pharr,
President of Pharr Yarns, nine trees were decorated the first year.
Mrs. Pharr suggested the use of red, white and green lights, the
traditional colors of Christmas. Later,
at Mrs. Pharr’s suggestion, the trees around the lake were decorated
and the manger scene became the focal point of the Christmas
decorations. The reaction
to these early efforts was so favorable that each year the number of
decorated trees has been increased.
By 2004, more than 375 trees were giving off a warm holiday glow
to the town and surrounding area.
Today,
and for more than twenty years, Mr. J. M. Carstarphen, Chief Executive
Officer of Pharr Yarns, has been instrumental in carrying on this
tradition. His support,
along with the continuing cooperation of company management and
townspeople alike, has ensured that McAdenville will be a special place
at a very special time of year when almost every home and evergreen tree
proclaim the birth of Jesus.
The
more than 375 trees which were decorated last year range in height from
6 feet to more than 90 feet. Only
live trees are used. The
number of lights on
individual trees varies with the height, diameter and fullness of the
trees. As few as 500 lights
and as many as 5,000 lights may be used on one tree.
One
of the favorite spots for viewers is the lake which is situated near the
heart of town. Here are 33
trees, ranging in size from 12 to 40 feet, which ring the lake.
The reflection of the lights in the water adds to the beauty of
the scene. A fountain,
located in the center of the lake, jets water 75 feet into the air.
Lights shining on the fountain go through a sequence of red,
green, blue and amber about once every ten seconds.
At the lake, a 46 foot wide lighted image of Old Man Winter blows
snowflakes into the air.
While
much emphasis has been placed on the lighting of trees, this represents
only a portion of the effort that goes into the preparation for
Christmas. The town
residents play a big part as they decorate their doors in original
styles according to their own personal feelings.
This gives a special expression of “Best Wishes for a Merry
Christmas” from the townspeople to their visitors.
A life-size nativity scene and life-size figures of carolers,
complete with music, add to the effect.
More
than 200 wreaths adorn lampposts throughout the town.
Santa and his reindeer, a display that is nine feet tall and
seventy feet long, are featured as part of the annual tradition.
Spot and flood lights are used in varying colors throughout the
town to accent the scenes and to give special effects to the trees and
surrounding scenery. Chrono-chime
bells, mounted on a 30 foot structure located at the Community Center,
play Christmas carols during the Christmas season.
Although
the look of McAdenville will be different for the next several years due
to work progressing on the development
of several new neighborhoods in town, McAdenville
and Pharr Yarns are dedicated to continuing the
Christmas
Town
tradition for years to come.
In
addition to the local media coverage, McAdenville also received national
coverage......
* 1980, Charles
Kuralt on his "Morning
Show"
gave nationwide television coverage
to the beauty of McAdenville and placed it on the map as Christmas Town
U.S.A.
* 1989,
Christmas Town was featured in "Guidepost
Magazine".
* 1990,
Pat Robertson's "700
Club"
also gave nation wide television coverage to the extravaganza.
*
1997, after finding Christmas Town USA on the internet, ABC's
"Good
Morning America",
broadcast a LIVE report from McAdenville as several hundred residents
gathered to appear on the show.
* 2000, Cable
Network "HGTV"
gave world-wide coverage to McAdenville, Christmas Town USA in their
Christmas special "Christmas Across America".
* 2002, Cable
News Network "MSNBC"
aired a news report about the lights in Christmas Town USA.
* 2004, Cable
Network "Turner South"
featured McAdenville's Christmas Lights on their Blue
Ribbon series.
Nationally
US Airways magazine produced an article about McAdenville's Christmas
Lights along with many other out-of-state newspapers and magazines.
The Montel
Williams Show requested interviews with McAdenville residents. A camera
crew was dispatched to McAdenville and interviewed 8 residents. In
December that year, McAdenville was featured on Montel's show.
International
* 2003, ARD a TV
network from Germany gave Christmas Town it's first International
coverage. An ARD Correspondent and video crew arrived in McAdenville on
December 1 for 3 days of video taping and interviews with local
residents. The report was aired on the ARD network in German in
mid-December. ARD is one of the largest TV station in Germany with a
coverage of over 5,000,000 viewers.
A German on-line magazine "bild. t-online.de" an on-line
version of Europe's largest daily Newspaper reported to their viewers
with photos about Christmas Town.
T-online, a major player in the European Internet Market averaging more
than 2 million hits (viewers per month) also reported on Christmas Town.
Another on-line
request for information and photos was received from an Austrian
Newspaper "Osterreich". Million of Austrian's had the
opportunity to read about and see Christmas Town.
TF1 a French Television Network sent it's US Correspondent and
Videographer to McAdenville to report on a day in the life of an
American Family living in Christmas Town USA. The video production was
aired in France in mid December. TF1 has more than 10 million viewers
every night.
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