By LEAH VONGUNDEN
One of Centre County’s most cherished Christmas traditions, Bellefonte Victorian Christmas, filled the streets with holiday joy and cheer for its forty-second year.
This magical event is held for two fulfilled days with many things to do and see. If you think you’ll be bored, I guarantee you won’t be. There is something for everyone, and that includes your children.
The town is decorated with lights all over the trees, a huge Christmas tree in front of the courthouse that you cannot miss, and even Santa’s house.
During the Victorian Christmas celebrations, guests could attend productions by actors through various events throughout the town, a concert crawl, Festival of Trees, Children’s Victorian Teas, Special Events with Santa Clause, and a horse drawn carriage ride. If this isn’t enough for your entire family yet then you as well can go buy many assortments of items by different companies, food trucks, the Candy Cane Express, and arts and crafts.
As a child who used to be very difficult to please, I remember always loving the Festival of Trees. It is held at the Central Pennsylvania Institute of Science and Technology. It consists of more than 60 decorated trees, all with a different theme.
This community also included live entertainment, a basket raffle, tree competition and scavenger hunt, poinsettia sale, and a visit from Santa himself.
A beloved teacher at Bellefonte Area High School, video production teacher Mrs. Carla Cipro, worked at her photography stand at Talleyrand Park during Victorian Christmas.
She keeps her time occupied by being a wife, mother, teacher, and photographer, and currently serves as the district’s public relations coordinator. As someone who attended this year’s holiday folklore, I fell in love with her work instantly. Mrs. Cipro has captivating photos of the beautiful town itself during all four seasons of the year.
My mother, aunt, and I were very fortunate to be able to participate in the horse-drawn carriage ride this year. It consisted of a 10-15 minute ride throughout the town with two gorgeous horses leading you. It’s a magical time to admire the beauty of the town and festive time of year that brings everyone together, while creating memories with your loved ones. You can even pet the horses.
If this sounds amazing and you want to be one of the 4,000 tourists to attend in future years but you’re worried about parking or have a family member who can’t walk far, there is a solution for you. Parking gets crazy in downtown Bellefonte especially if you have to pay, so Bellefonte Area High School created a shuttle from there with free parking in the student lot to the Festival of Trees or to downtown Bellefonte with all of the events. I did it myself and it went very smoothly with easy directions and has great time management.
As well, the town is small and close together which means walking throughout is not hard and is beautiful while doing so. This popular tradition is a terrific way to start off your holidays and everyone who goes would say so, too.
