MONDAY, FEB. 15, 2016
TOURISM, LIFESTYLES
PROGRESS III — SECTION A
Please Drink Responsibly
740-598-4121
2680 Commercial Ave., Mingo Jct., OH
Beginning a city renaissance
Dave Gossett
Jerry Barilla, left, and Judy Bratten of the Historic Fort Steuben and Mark Nelson of Nelson Fine Arts examine one of the 37 6-foot-tall nutcrackers that were displayed at the Historic Fort Steuben Park during the Christmas season. Nelson said his woodshop is prepared to build another 50 nutcrackers for display during the Christmas season this year.
Nutcracker Village and Advent Market a major success for Steubenville By DAVE GOSSETT Staff writer
STEUBENVILLE —The 6foot nutcrackers that attracted thousands of visitors to the Historic Fort Steuben for the Christmas holidays have been packed up and put in storage until late November. “I’m kind of sad to see them leave the park but they will return this fall and there will be a lot more new nutcrackers this year,” remarked Mark Nelson of Nelson Fine Arts and the creator of the Nutcracker Village and Advent Market. “We will keep them in storage and do some minor repairs and touch up some of the paint and they will be as good as new,” added Nelson. The idea of a nutcracker village started a year ago when Judy Bratten and Jerry Barilla of Historic Fort Steuben toured the Victorian Village in Cambridge. The idea continued to grow when Barilla was unpacking
“We had an estimated 7,000 people at the Steubenville Christmas Parade and a lot of those people came to the market and to see the nutcrackers after the parade. It was absolutely great because we had so many visitors and so many good comments. – Historic Fort Steuben President Jerr y Barilla
Christmas decorations donated to the fort’s visitor center by his sister. “I found a cardboard box with a nutcracker in it and the story of a nutcracker village on the top. I wrote a note to Judy saying this is what we can do to make Steubenville a destination point. Mark Nelson made a prototype of a 6-foot nutcracker. That’s what we needed ... someone to take an idea and make it happen,” explained Barilla. “I had my daughter print a life-size nutcracker on paper and I taped it to my living room wall so I could sit and study it and watch my kids react to it. I hoped the concept of a nutcracker village would be attractive but I never thought it would be
this successful,” related Nelson. “I also had the concept of an advent market for several years and was encouraged by friends who are on the staff at Franciscan University of Steubenville after they saw advent villages on Austria, where the university’s sister campus is located. During the Thanksgiving holiday weekend my son, Gabriel, and I put the advent market chalets together,” continued Nelson. Organizers of the Nutcracker Village and Advent Market
estimate approximately 12,000 people visited the Historic Fort Steuben Park during a two-week period before Christmas to shop at the vendors in the chalets and to inspect the nutcrackers. “We had an estimated 7,000 people at the Steubenville Christmas Parade and a lot of those people came to the market and to see the nutcrackers after the parade. It was absolutely great because we had so many visitors and so many good comments. And we had a multitude of return visitors who brought family and friends to see the nutcrackers a second and third time. When you have return visits, that is a sure sign of success,” noted Historic Fort Steuben Presi-
See NUTCRACKERS Page 2A Á