By Bob Strohm
bstrohm@wbcowqel.com
The downtown Bucyrus business district was aglow with flickering flames Thursday night for a city Christmas holiday tradition.
The annual Candlelight Christmas event entices holiday shoppers to shop locally as they walk downtown Bucyrus with the sidewalks illuminated by the glow of tea candles inside of jugs.
Former Bucyrus resident Joyce Dillon now lives in Delaware returned to her hometown for the event.
“This is the first one I have been to for a long time. I don’t live here, but this is home and it is just fun,” Dillon said.
Stephanie Butler waited for the horse-drawn carriage rides with her son Tim and daughter Brandy.
“We do this every year. We just love it. We hit all the shops, and check things out, and we get our hot chocolate and chili,” Stephanie said. “But my favorite thing is the carolers.”
“I like the horse ride, the Christmas scenery, and the Christmas carolers,” Tim added.
HomeCare Matters Health and Hospice used their building for cookie decorating, carolers from the theater company, as well as the Crawford County Art Council’s Art Show. Also taking place inside of the HomeCare Matters building, Harrison Faulkner, dressed as an elf told Christmas tales to those who came inside.
Celebrating their first Candlelight Christmas, Norman’s Niche was open for wine and craft beer aficionados. Also taking place within Norman’s Niche artist Sandy Laipply, who hosts the Wine and Water Colors Class, was painting a picture of the store front in water color.
“I teach water color and wine classes here, and so we decided that I would demonstrate.” Laipply said. “So as I was thinking what I wanted to paint I decided to paint the store front of Norman’s Niche.”
M.B. Subculture, who also held its first Candlelight Christmas in their new Sandusky Street location had “Elf” on the television as shoppers browsed through the items of their store. M.B. Subculture also provided extra holiday cheer for neighboring Mike’s Authentiques, and the HomeCare Matters building.
“We have our specials, but we will have some people who are singing carols, we have an elf who is reading stories, and we have some of our other people from the Crawford Theater Company reading stories here and at Home HealthCare Matters, and they will be caroling down at Mike’s Authentiques store, so we are sharing with everybody all night,” M.B. Subculture Co-Owner Betsy Gerhart explained.
The sidewalks weren’t just for shoppers, as many storefronts had stands that offered giveaways, and special deals to customers.
One-time shoppers for the Candlelight Christmas Kim Schuster and Kim Pontziani were selling Mary Kay items as well as offering beauty tips outside of the building where Romanoff’s Jewelry once resided.
“We just want to show people holiday products for the season, and we want to teach people how to take care of their skin,” Schuster said. “It’s a beautiful night out, and it is great to see everyone downtown supporting our community.”
For their fifth consecutive year the Woodlawn United Methodist Church was offering free hot cocoa and cookies to shoppers passing by.
“We came out to give out hot cocoa and cookies for free to help people get into the Christmas spirit,” Don Heinlen said.
At the mural park members of the Kiwanis Club of Bucyrus were handing out bowls of chili for their 12th year at the Candlelight Christmas event. While chili cook Doug Wisenauer wouldn’t give away his secret recipe, he did explain why they offer the free chili.
“We want to give our support to the community, get our name out there and stay involved,” Weisenauer said.
The annual event lasted from 5 until 8 p.m. with some businesses staying open later to meet the demand for customers.
A photo gallery of the 2014 edition of Candlelight Christmas can be found in the Photo section.