Highland County’s Wintertide is Saturday December 3

Hi, this is Chris Swecker, Executive Director of the Highland County Chamber of Commerce.   I’m here today to talk about Wintertide.  That’s our annual holiday celebration always held on the first Saturday in December and this year Wintertide will be held on Saturday, December 3.  You can slow your pace and enjoy the sights, sounds and tastes of this special time of the year.

A central hub of a lot of the activities of Wintertide will be held at The Highland Center in Monterey.   There will be a Wintertide Vendor Market, with local arts and crafts vendors.  Always a lot of exciting shopping opportunities from really talented individuals here within the community and that will be held from 10am to 5pm at The Highland Center.  There will also be kids crafts during those hours.

And most everyone’s favorite, a visit with Santa Claus himself will be from 11am to 1pm.  There will also be a clogging performance at 3pm by the Little Switzerland Cloggers downstairs at The Highland Center.  If you’ve got a sweet tooth or you’re just hungry in general during the day at The Highland Center, from 10am to 2pm, Susanna’s Confections will be open and they will have free hot chocolate and a cookie for kids.  So, whether you’re an adult or a child there’s something for you to see and do at The Highland Center between the hours of 10am and 5pm on that Saturday, December 3.

There in the main auditorium during the Winter Market there will be a Christmas Tree set up, and that’s sponsored by the Blue Grass Valley Bank, and decorations for the tree will be provided by children from the Highland Children’s House day care, which is always fun to see.

There will also be other specials and discounts throughout Highland County during Wintertide.  For example, Big Fish Cider will be open from 2 to 7pm.  The Curly Maple in Monterey will have winter inspired lunch and dinner fare as well as holiday inventory, local goods and more from 10am until 7pm.  High’s Restaurant in Monterey will also be open from 11am to 8pm with delicious food.  This local staple will have their special inch thick ribeye steaks.

The Highland Inn will also be open with some refreshments and you can learn about the historic Highland Inn renovation project from the current owners, from the Blue Grass Resource Center. That will be from 11am to 3pm.

Laurel Fork Sapsuckers, one of our local maple syrup sugar camps, will be open from 10:30am until 4:00pm with some light refreshments and you can pick up some of their delicious syrup and other gifts.  Sugar Tree Country Store, another one of our local sugar camps, will be open in McDowell from 10am to 5pm and they’ll have all types of goodies there, unique shopping and always some tasty treats as well, with some new products to offer in that restored general store.

Twice as Nice in Monterey, it’s a family clothing thrift store that benefits the Highland Medical Center.   They’ll be open as well from 10am to 2pm.

That Saturday will also be the final day of our Sweet Deal Days from the Chamber.  That’s when several of our members provide a discount if you show them your 2022 Maple Festival keychain.   Many of the organizations that I mentioned before will be participating in that, if you show them your keychain, such as Big Fish Cider, High’s Restaurant, Laurel Fork Sapsuckers and Twice as Nice.  You can get those keychains, if you don’t have one, at the Highland County Chamber of Commerce for $3.00 through the end of this year.  As part of the Sweet Deal Days as well up at the Visitor’s Center at The Highland Center, we’ll have discounted prices, $5.00 off, for our Maple Festival long sleeve t-shirts, hats and beanies.  If you bring in that keychain you can get a discount there between the hours of 10am and 5pm during Wintertide.

You can get information about Wintertide and Sweet Deal Days at www.highlandcounty.org

For Allegheny Mountain Radio, this is Chris Swecker.