STEUBENVILLE — The holiday season hits full stride in downtown Steubenville Friday with the opening of Christmas at the Fort, a five-week celebration featuring lots of holiday music, the fort’s special holiday market, activities for children, food and gift vendors and, of course, fireworks.

Mayor Jerry Barilla, president of Historic Fort Steuben, says the fun will start around 3 p.m. with the opening of the Holiday Market featuring 24 booths selling foods, crafts and other gift items. He said the younger crowd will be able to ride the Christmas Carousel for free from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m.

It’s also opening weekend for a special holiday light show set to music, a gift from Jefferson County commissioners, at the courthouse, and the Steubenville Nutcracker Village, featuring more than 200 life-sized, hand-crafted nutcrackers–including the five newest inhabitants — will already be in full swing. The Visitor Center will open Friday at 10 a.m. so kids of all ages can write letters to Santa, share Christmas memories and browse the Steubenville-themed gifts and decorative items in the fort’s own Christmas Shoppe.

“It’s a major event,” Barilla said. “Over the years it’s attracted many thousands of people to Steubenville to enjoy this special event — it’s kind of unique across the country, having life-sized nutcrackers throughout the historic business district.”

Barilla said holiday music will fill the park at 4:30 p.m. when Honkytonk Sweethearts will be on the main stage, pausing at 5:15 p.m. for the Rev. Michael Gossett’s Blessing of the Tree. The Ron Retzer Trio will take over the musical entertainment at 5:30 p.m. at the amphitheater, while the Brenda Casey Dancers will follow on the Berkman Amphitheater stage.

The basketball team from the Franciscan University of Steubenville will lead the crowd in the countdown to Steubenville Lights Up the Night, with fireworks to follow, sometime between 6:15 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

“It’s Steubenville’s biggest event of the year — we ‘light up the night’ downtown,” he said, while the nutcrackers populating Steubenville Nutcracker Village will be on display around the clock at no charge.

“This is an opportunity for grandparents to have an enjoyable evening or two with their grandkids, looking at the nutcrackers, riding the merry-go-round and enjoying all the things going on,” Barilla said. “It’s a great family-oriented event where people can enjoy each other.”

Christmas at the Fort will be in operation through Dec. 28, with trolley rides, puppet shows, outdoor movie showings and performances by a number of school bands and choirs. The ever-popular all-school drum line performance will be Dec. 13.

The fort also will be open for tours beginning Saturday, and on Dec. 6 festival-goers can take in the Sights and Sounds of Christmas parade beginning at noon.