Friends of Charlottesville Downtown bringing holiday magic to DTM

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) - Friends of Charlottesville Downtown is bringing a little magic to the Downtown Mall throughout the holiday season.

“I’m looking for Charlottesville to have a reason to come downtown, particularly for families to come downtown. There’s a little bit of something for everybody,” Greer Achenbach with Friends of Charlottesville Downtown said.

Kids can go on a scavenger hunt to find elves around the city and take pictures with Santa. There will also be music, treats at cafes and restaurants, and the Holly Trolley.

“A number of our bars, restaurants, and coffee shops will be serving delicious seasonal drinks and cocktails,” Achenbach said.

“I get the privilege of being one of the drivers for the Holly Trolley. So, I’m very excited about that,” City Councilor Brian Pinkston said. “This past year has been full of hard things and this world is full of hard things, but I think whenever we get a chance to celebrate something that’s a good thing, we should do so.”

Friends of Charlottesville Downtown got a $25,000 grant from the Charlottesville Albemarle Convention and Visitors Bureau to make the magic happen.

“We’re just really excited to see this bringing a new energy to the Downtown Mall. I mean, it’s just always nice to have all the lights up and it’s always nice to see all this additional programming,” Brantley Ussery with the bureau said.

“We were also interested in increasing foot traffic for the merchants and making this a really successful year after a couple of hard years with the pandemic,” Achenbach said.

All of the events are free and run from November 26 to January 8.

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