PETERSBURG, Va. β The holiday spirit is taking over Old Towne Petersburg. After years of plywood gingerbread men, small wreaths, and few lights, there is change in the air this Christmas.
"We could not stand the wooden candy canes, the wooden gingerbread men," Petersburg Mayor Sam Parham said.
There was a push last year to change how the Downtown - Old Towne areas reflected the holidays. Now more than 30,000 lights and 3,000 feet of garland decorate downtown.
"We started decorating October 29," Commonwealth Christmas business owner Josh Bowman said. "We took two solid weeks of putting lights on Downtown Sycamore Street, Dixie Parking Lot, the Siege Museum."
People are taking notice.
"I was riding through Petersburg this evening, after dinner. The decorations are amazing, the lights, the garlands, it just really brings home Christmas back in Petersburg," Karen Peffer said.
"I love the lights. I think it's exciting for the kids and for the adults as well," Petersburg resident Latoya Bates said. "I think it's great for the city. I think it's going to attract more people down here. I think the people that already down here, look forward to seeing it, so I think it's good idea, great asset to the city."
Blakely Perkinson, from Old Towne Perks Restaurant, has high hopes.
"I think it will bring more people of course, it will bring more people to businesses, so it will be great for everybody," Perkinson said.
"I think they will be busier, it's more welcoming and If I were to drive through traveling, I'd definitely want to stop in," Ashley Perkinson added.
The city has another surprise coming in December - a Grand Illumination on December 6.
"We'll be doing a 30-foot display, including a 26-foot tree and three-foot star," Bowman said.
Several businesses say with everything the city is doing with lights and garland, it has prompted them to decorate even more than ever. They say the response from the public has been extremely positive.
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