5 minute read
Tiny Winter Wonderland
A local family shares holiday cheer(s) with an annual display at 3 Daughters Brewing.
BY MARCIA BIGGS
What started out decades ago as a family Christmas display in Bruce and Pat Harting’s St. Petersburg garage, now has a life of its own as a starring attraction at one of the city’s largest craft breweries. Every holiday season for the past decade, 3 Daughters Brewing has hosted the Harting’s massive North Pole Winter WonderLand, drawing multi-generational visitors from near and far.
The Hartings have a great relationship to the owner of 3 Daughters who is happy to provide space and manpower for building and storing the display, after all he’s their son Mike Harting who came up with the idea of displaying the village soon after the brewery opened in 2013. “After 3 Daughters opened, Mike said let’s do it, let’s move it here,” says Bruce, “so we built two tables and it drew attention. Every year it just got bigger and bigger.”
The Christmas village was spread out on two 4x8-foot plywood boards, but as the years went by and more pieces were added, it expanded to four, then six, then eight boards. Now it wraps around the side and back of the tasting room, allowing plenty of space for visitors who often pack the place on weekends, from aging Baby Boomers looking for a bit of nostalgia to young families who view it as a magical playstation from the past.
Expanding themes
As the collection grew over the years, so did the themes. There is a sprawling Alpine Village with snow-covered churches and moving ski lifts with little skiers. In the sky, air balloons fly and on the ground, a Ferris wheel spins while trains whiz by. There is an entire section devoted to Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus complete with a cast of performers on the trapeze and the high wire, tiny animals and bleachers under the big tops filled with tiny people.
More recently, the Hartings were thrilled to add a complete “Field of Dreams” scenario with a miniature baseball field situated in a cornfield. The stands are filled with spectators as the teams play out on the grassy field. “That was meaningful because Mike told us two years ago that we can’t do any more tables, Dad, there’s just no space,” relays Bruce with a mischievous smile. “But one night we were watching ‘Field of Dreams’ and we thought, hey, we can do this. If you can build a baseball field in the middle of a cornfield, we can fit this in – and we did! We designed a special board that would fit it.”
Bruce found miniature baseball teams, fans for the bleachers and even 213 rows of corn which he planted by hand around the exterior of the field.
Over the last decade, the building of the Christmas village has become a much-anticipated labor of love for both the Harting family and the staff at 3 Daughters. Fork-lifts are used to haul the sections from the back warehouse to the tasting room where they are unwrapped from their shrink-wrap cocoons. Then the work begins with Pat at the helm and grandchildren providing much needed assistance.
The Hartings have a great relationship to the owner of 3 Daughters who is happy to provide space and manpower for building and storing the display, after all he’s their son Mike Harting who came up with the idea of displaying the village soon after the brewery opened in 2013. “After 3 Daughters opened, Mike said let’s do it, let’s move it here,” says Bruce, “so we built two tables and it drew attention. Every year it just got bigger and bigger.”
This year, the first boards were brought out in early October. “We’re going to wash every piece,” insisted Bruce. After washing, each piece needs to be inspected for touch-ups or electrical issues, then placed strategically in the proper section. Lights must be tested and trains should run according to schedule, of course. It all leads up to the Grand Opening of the North Pole Winter Wonderland, which this year is expected to be November 10.
The Hartings beam with pride as they describe the months of preparation and work involved.
“Our focus from the beginning was always getting people to talk to each other,” says Bruce. “That’s what 3 Daughters is all about. I love it when you hear people talking about their own Christmas memories of having a model train or decorations like these.”
3 Daughters North Pole Winter Wonderland is open during normal brewery business hours through the first week in January. Groups are welcome with advance notice. 3 Daughters Brewing, 222 22nd St. S, St. Petersburg, opens at 11:30 a.m. daily. Closing hours vary. 3dbrewing.com (727)-495-6002
