Nutcrackers head to hibernation
Steubenville’s annual display comes to an end Sunday
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STEUBENVILLE -- What was, by all accounts, a highly successful holiday season in downtown Steubenville will come to an end Sunday.
That's when the city's 200-plus nutcrackers will "head back into hibernation," according to Therese Nelson Fedoryka, the Steubenville Nutcracker Village's lead designer and event organizer.
"Since the event is not ticketed and the nutcrackers are displayed 24/7 from Thanksgiving through the first week of January, it's always very difficult to get an accurate count of visitors to the Steubenville Nutcracker Village," she said. "Based on the number of maps distributed, we estimate at least 50,000 people attended the festival this year during the seven-week span, including entire schools, tour bus groups, local families and many out-of-town visitors."
Steubenville Visitor Center Executive Director Judy Bratten also was pleased, figuring more than 30,000 visitors celebrated the season with a stroll through Fort Steuben Park.
"We don't have a final tally yet, but I know we've had over 30,000 people," she said. "We do an actual count of the number of people who walk in the door of the Visitor Center -- we know that's not everybody who comes to town, it's maybe one-third of the people. A lot of people come through at night, when we're closed, or they don't even come into the Visitor Center or they stay on Fourth Street." Nutcracker Village benefited from a lot of positive press, beginning with the "Today Show" kicking off its "Merriest Main Street" series in Steubenville.
"We welcomed more out-of-state attendees this year than ever before, which we attribute partially to the great press we received," Fedoryka said, pointing out that in addition to the local media and the "Today Show" plug, "that very same day, we got an in-print and online feature in People Magazine ('Things that Make You Smile.') In addition, The Washington Post ran a feature just before Christmas, as well as The London Times and Global News from Vancouver, Canada. As an added surprise, the Nutcracker Village was featured on NPR's 'Wait Wait … Don't Tell Me!'"
The nutcrackers also were featured in a segment of KDKA-TV's morning show, "Pittsburgh Today Live."
Fedoryka said an interactive map displayed in the heart of the Nutcracker Village showed they had visitors from all 50 states and Canada.
"While plenty of our visitors made the experience a day trip, many stayed overnight in hotels and bed and breakfasts in order to spend an entire weekend exploring Steubenville and the Nutcracker Village," she said.
Bratten said it definitely was a good year.
"The weather was very helpful," she said. "We had a couple of rainy days, but other than that the weather was mild -- no ice, snow or sleet. And all our vendors said they did very well. Our vendors also said they like this event because they get to meet so many interesting people from all over. We had a guy from Saudi Arabia who said he can't wait to come back -- he said he's going to do it every year. We also had someone from Chile -- his daughter was working in St. Clairsville and she encouraged him to come visit her and then go visit the Nutcracker Village."
Fedoryka said they're "already beginning preparations for the 2024 season, the 10th anniversary of the Steubenville Nutcracker Village."