Christmas Town shines bright, bringing joy to families in Pittsville
PITTSVILLE, Md. – A beloved holiday tradition is back in Pittsville!
“I look forward to it every year,” Mrs. Claus said. “All year round.”
Mrs. Claus isn’t alone in her love for the Pittsville Christmas Town. The entire community comes out over the course of the holiday season to see the thousands of lights and decorations that make up the display.
“I think it’s really pretty out here,” explained Devin, one of many children who turned out Thursday evening to check out the display. “I like all the lights and the directions. It’s really cool out here.”
“I like the alien and the mouse where it was eating the cookie,” said Brenson, another child who was thrilled with the display of lights and decorations.
The enormous display can be found off Friendship Road in Pittsville at the home of Marsha Newton and her husband Mike. They tell us they do this to spread holiday cheer and help local families.
Christmas Town is an undertaking so big that the Newton’s have to start setting things up all the way in September in order to have it ready in time for the holiday season.
“He’s out here every single day to put up the lights and all the decorations and everything like that,” Marsha said of the work her husband does to make it happen every year. “We’re still not all the way done. We still have a couple more displays to finish and open up for the weekend.”
Some of the decorations date all the way back to the 1950’s. But, no matter what direction you look in, you’re bound to see something new that you may not have noticed initially.
As you walk around and gaze at the enormous display, you might notice that certain areas of the decorations are organized.
One area of Christmas Town features a vast assortment of Santa, while another is rows upon rows of snowmen. The same can be found with angel displays and Christmas movie classics such as The Grinch and Charlie Brown.
If you go, there’s no doubt your eye will eventually be drawn to the life-size sleigh with reindeer that look like they’re literally about to whisk Santa back off to the North Pole. That sleigh, decades ago, was a mainstay in the Georgetown Christmas Parade, according to the Newton’s.
“We have lots of the families that have been coming for years,” Marsha explained. “Their kids are now six, seven, eight years old and we watched them when they were infants being brought in, in carriers, so it’s a great experience to see the kids in the community growing up and things like that.”
Marsha and Mike hope to continue to grow Christmas Town for many more years to come, and they remain thankful for the opportunity to spread joy each and every holiday season.
Christmas Town is open Monday through Thursday from 5 to 8 p.m., and then Friday through Sunday from 6 to 9 p.m.
The display is located at 6685 Friendship Road in Pittsville. It’s free to go, but donations are accepted and encouraged. All donations go towards helping local families ahead of the holiday.
More details about Christmas Town in Pittsville can be found on their Facebook page.
