ALIGHT WITH JOY — Individuals with WesBanco, which sponsored the 2024 Steubenville Nutcracker Village lights, flipped the switch to turn on the lights during the opening ceremony. From left are, back, Mark Johnson, middle, Eric Timmons and Kevin Straub and, front, Theodora Timmons and Lily Straub. -- Christopher Dacanay

STEUBENVILLE — The 2024 holiday season was the biggest Steubenville Nutcracker Village has experienced in terms of event program, as well as attendance.

Thousands of visitors poured into downtown Steubenville each weekend of the village, with a few warm-weather Saturdays bringing out crowds that rivaled First Fridays.

“Every single day between Christmas and New Years saw more foot traffic than any regular weekend throughout the year,” said Therese Nelson Fedoryka, chief designer. “Our pin-board map displayed throughout the event shows visitors from all 50 states, Canada and Mexico. Thanks to some wonderful features in Forbes Magazine, Readers Digest, NPR and Farm & Dairy, we received e-mails and comments on social media from hundreds of people around the country who have added the Steubenville Nutcracker Village to their bucket list.”

She said the Nutcracker Village Facebook page gained an additional 7,000 followers in 2024 — bringing the current total to 28,000 — and the website had 94,000-plus unique visitors.

“Looking at some of our in-person data from weekend programs, our German Gluhwein Garden served 300 more patrons this year than last; our Nativity Exhibit featuring George Dvorsky’s collection of 400-plus creches had twice as many visitors as 2023; and our Children’s Corner, run by Hilltop Montessori School, had 5,200 visitors this year compared to 3,500 in 2023,” Fedoryka explained.

CHEERS — Steubenville Nutcracker Village volunteers Annie McKenna, left, and Monica Roderique toasted with commemorative Nutcracker Village mugs at the German Glühwein Garden. -- Christopher Dacanay

She said they’re hoping for a more precise crowd count from the city’s analytics company, retained last year to provide city officials with an accurate picture of what’s drawing visitors to Steubenville and where they’re coming from.

“We’re grateful to the many downtown businesses and organizations that helped make this season magical by contributing to the festivities with events of their own, including Leonardo’s Coffeehouse, Bookmarx Bookstore, Spyridon Studios, the Public Library of Steubenville and Jefferson County, Strong Towns, the Harmonium Project, Sycamore Youth Center and Froehlich’s Classic Corner,” Fedoryka said.

She said to celebrate the festival’s 10-year anniversary, “Our team at Nelson’s and the Steubenville Cultural Trust went the extra mile with planning, adding a variety of new attractions and experiences for attendees.”

“We kicked off the season with a street party the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, unveiling 10 new nutcrackers and flipping the switch on a series of new downtown lights, thanks to the gift of a two-year sponsorship from WesBanco,” Fedoryko said. “While we had initially planned vintage bistro lighting over two blocks of Fourth Street, the existing electrical infrastructure downtown was deemed incapable of supporting that upgrade, which became evident when one of the light poles on North Fourth Street fell in a windstorm during the Nutcracker Village season. We were able to switch gears and light several more buildings downtown, including one inspired by the Temple Bar in Dublin, Ireland. Mark Nelson also engineered and installed a series of “star-burst” light displays inspired by the upcoming celebration of America’s semiquincentennial.”

She said a new map layout was tested this year, expanding the nutcracker walk into the 200 block of North Fourth Street, which, she explained, was met with excitement by our thousands of visitors who make an effort to walk and find all 200-plus nutcrackers.

ENTERTAINMENT — The Ron Retzer Trio performed atop a stage overlooking the Steubenville Nutcracker Village on Fourth Street. -- Christopher Dacanay

“A primary goal of the Steubenville Nutcracker Village has always been to revitalize downtown Steubenville and to highlight the businesses here,” she said. “We love giving attendees the chance to patronize our local businesses and likewise, they enjoy the opportunity to do so.”

Each year, organizers do a satisfaction survey and receive a few thousand responses that help us plan for future events. She said when asked the question, “What did we do well?” the overwhelming response is “The Nutcrackers!”

Visitors called the display amazing and commented on how nice it was to be able to walk into the various shops. One said the area around Drosselmeyer’s Nutcracker Shop “always feels like a Hallmark movie, so festive and fun.”

“Everything was so charming and fun,” one visitor said. “Loved the themed nutcrackers, loved the dancing lights, the market, the trees along the way. The path was easy to follow, and I don’t feel like we missed anything. Was well thought out and planned.”

Another referenced the holiday bustle and said, “The nutcrackers get better every year and I love visiting them.”

“As one might expect, we also received a number of suggestions for improvement, which we are eager to work with downtown businesses and organizations to implement for future years: More public restroom facilities, shops and restaurants open later or more often (especially between Christmas and New Year’s Day), directional signage, sidewalk improvements, additional lighting, better sanitation and trash removal, more decorations throughout town and more nutcrackers,” she said.

She said organizers are “ever astonished by the commitment from our community, from both ends of the scale.” In addition to a strong volunteer base, she said organizers “are supported by hundreds of wonderful businesses and families who sponsor nutcrackers, eggs and catfish annually.”

She added they’ve “been blessed by the loyalty” of their sponsors for the past 10 years, a list that includes the Nelson family and their employees, Tri-State Financial Services, Pat McLaughlin, Francesca Carinci, EM Media, Steubenville Police Wives, Downtown Bakery, Ace Optical, the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce, Trinity Health System, Froehlich’s Classic Corner, the Jefferson County Historical Association, Bookmarx, the Rotary Steubenville Club, the Delaratta family, Steubenville Kiwanis Club, AIM Women’s Center, Barium and Chemicals, Mosti Funeral Home, the Hilty family, the Kovaleski family, Jim and Anna Chaney, Franciscan University of Steubenville, Eric and Alexandra Hart, Italian-American Cultural Club, the Dodds family, the Harmonium Project, Sycamore Youth Center, Grand Theater, Heather Hoover and the City of Steubenville.

“Having spent hundreds of thousands of hours working to make the Nutcracker Village a successful event for Steubenville over the last 10 years, we have periodically witnessed the lack of commitment from the local community,” she pointed out.

“We long to see the streets of Steubenville bustling every day, storefronts filled with lucrative businesses, a thriving place to live and work and raise a family. This is a sentiment we expect to share with all those that call Steubenville home, especially those that make a living downtown.

“This past season, we were disappointed to hear that several of our patrons had unpleasant encounters with certain downtown businesses, as they were threatened, told downtown was ‘unsafe’ and even had their vehicles towed from unmarked lots,” she added. “We strive to create an environment that is safe, inviting and will leave a positive lasting impression on our guests, impacting the future of Steubenville’s public name. We look forward to building stronger partnerships with downtown businesses and better preparing downtown Steubenville to welcome visitors.”

She said all of their events are free to attend, “as we hope the event is something everyone can enjoy. However, we have been surprised at how few local residents actually attend: If you live in Steubenville and have never participated in a Steubenville Cultural Trust event, we encourage you to come visit us downtown and see why thousands of visitors flock here from all 50 states. You’re the reason we are doing this.”

She said the Steubenville Cultural Trust is preparing for the Great Steubenville Eggsibition, which will run April 1 through May 4, followed by the Catfish Crawl ArtWalk, which will run July 1 through Sept. 1.

“We are also excited to announce that each of our public art projects this year will have an element of patriotism on display, as we join the nationwide celebration of America’s 250th anniversary of signing the Declaration of Independence,” Fedoryka said.

To keep up with projects and more announcements to come, visit SteubenvilleNutcrackerVillage.com or Facebook: Steubenville Nutcracker Village, Steubenville Eggsibition and Catfish Crawl ArtWalk.