Christmas in Historic Chatham will kick off holiday season

Pittsylvania County’s seat is getting ready for its annual Christmas in Historic Chatham that takes place Thursday-Saturday.

Chatham First is putting on the three-day holiday celebration that will begin the Christmas season in the town.

“We’ve got a really packed weekend,” said Mary Lee Black, chair of the organization’s Christmas Committee. “Everything we do is open and free of charge to everyone.”

This year’s theme for the event is “Weaving Our Story,” with a kickoff reception lasting from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday in the Shadetree Gallery at Shadetree Rare Books. In addition, the first-ever exhibit of coverlets hand-woven by slaves from the Shady Grove Plantation in the 1830s will be at Chatham Furniture Co. during the festivities, Black said. Linwood Wright will give a presentation on the coverlets.

A preview of the documentary, “Weaving Our Story,” a collection of Chatham stories, will also take place at the Shadetree Gallery on Thursday evening.

Friday’s events will include an Illumination of the Town with Santa and Mrs. Claus at 7 p.m., accompanied by a Lantern Lighting Ceremony and Festival of Carols at the Chatham Courthouse. A Yule Log Celebration will be held at Competition Alley and the 1813 Clerk’s Office, with a SoundCheck open mic event afterward at the Chatham Community Center.

Santa Claus will also be available for pictures at ChathaMooCa on Main Street.

On Saturday, town residents and visitors will also be able to purchase items from street vendors from Center Street to the Chatham Community Center from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Country ham biscuits, roasted peanuts and cider will be available. First Citizens Bank will feature quilting and spinning crafters while Robert Hurt’s law office will have chair caning and a model of a moonshine still.

The “Weaving Our Story” documentary will be shown at the Chatham Community Center at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, and the Chatham Christmas Parade will begin at 11 a.m. At 1 p.m., Kinney Rorrer and the New North Carolina Ramblers will be in concert at the center. A Christmas Carol Sing-Along with the Southern Virginia Baroque Youth Orchestra and Kevin Zakresky will take place at 2:30 p.m. at the center.

Also, Chatham First will have its tent set up at Main Street and Court Place, with Christmas ornaments, water, membership applications, wine glasses and walking tours, coverlet information and Chatham brochures available. Calendars entitled “The Dogs of Chatham,” will be sold at the tent, with proceeds going toward improving the quality of life for animals at the Pittsylvania County Animal Shelter. For more information, contact Mary Lee Black at (434) 432-7721.

Black encourages everyone to attend.

“For all of us in Chatham, this is the start of the Christmas season,” she said. “It really is a warm, small-town atmosphere.”