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SAMANTHA CART
Holiday Among the Hills
West Virginia Christmas Celebrations
For many, the joy of the holiday season
can be overshadowed by the work of dec-
orating, entertaining and gift giving. This
year, rather than allowing the season to
pass in a blur of parties, plays, storefronts
and errands, make time to experience a truly
unique take on the holidays: Christmas in
West Virginia. Whether you are looking
for an opportunity to pack up your family
for a long weekend, gift your employees
with a festive day out of the office or
forego the traditional Christmas party
with your friends, these Mountain State
events are sure to make this your most
memorable holiday season yet.
60 Days of Holiday Cheer
at The Greenbrier
November 22–January 1
Families have been coming to The
Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs,
WV, to celebrate the holidays for more
than a century. America’s Resort
starts its 60 Days of Holiday Cheer
on November 4, 2018, and it runs
until January 4, 2019. Along with
the luxurious amenities and wide
variety of activities available year-
round, the holiday festivities incor-
porate special events like a family
scavenger hunt, tree lighting, ice
skating, craft workshops, sleigh
rides, trolley light tours and a
New Year’s Eve party, as well as
over-the-top decorations, deca-
dent food and seasonal music.
“The Greenbrier goes all
out to celebrate the hol-
idays,” says Cam Huff-
man, director of public re-
lations. “With thousands
120
WEST VIRGINIA EXECUTIVE
of lights throughout our 11,000 acres,
elegantly decorated trees around every
corner and the smells of traditional hol-
iday favorites in the restaurants, there is
a reason why families keep going back
to The Greenbrier for the holidays year
after year.”
Beverly Old Fashioned Christmas
December 1
The Beverly Old Fashioned Christmas
event, hosted by the Beverly Heritage
Center, allows guests to take a step back
in time and enjoy period-specific activities
and shopping. There is no admission fee
for this annual event, and the histor-
ic theme is carried out with homemade
ornament making, live music and a visit
from Victorian Santa.
“Old Fashioned Beverly Christmas is
unique,” says Historic Beverly Spokes-
person Richard Evans. “There are lovely
homemade decorations on the doors and
windows made of pine, fruit and berries,
and staff and musicians are dressed in
their finest 19th-century garb. If it snows,
seeing them walking in the snow suggests
what the streets and sidewalks of Beverly
may have looked like in the 1860s. It is
such a different feel from shopping in
malls and big box stores.”
Visitors can easily fill an entire day in
Beverly by shopping for unique holiday
gifts, exploring Beverly Presbyterian
Church’s annual holiday bazaar and
eating at the Beverly Bistro. The event
concludes with a community sing-a-long
of traditional carols and hymns that takes
place just before the lighting of the com-
munity Christmas tree in the Beverly
Town Square.