Holiday campaign aims to Light Up Darlington
By Samantha Lyles, Staff Writer, slyles@newsandpress.net
Like so many stories these days, this one started with a Facebook post. Several weeks ago, a lady posted a photo of a small town gleaming with holiday lights and asked, “Wouldn’t it be great if Darlington looked like a Hallmark movie?” That casual wish took root with the community, and now – with the holidays upon us – the Light Up Darlington campaign is bringing welcome brightness to the season.
“We felt like Darlington needed some happiness, and nothing makes people happier than Christmas and beautiful Christmas lights,” says Harriet Hobbs, president and CEO of the Greater Darlington Chamber of Commerce, and author of that galvanizing Facebook post.
Hobbs says the Chamber has teamed with the City of Darlington, the Beautification Board, local businesses, and citizens like Curtis Boyd to purchase and install new lighted decorations and a new Christmas tree for the Public Square.
With permission from Darlington County, the fountain on the courthouse grounds will provide the base for a reusable 25-foot lighted tree. New lighted wreaths have been installed around the Square, and more decorations and lights are on the way.
The Light Up Darlington campaign is offering local citizens the chance to sponsor lights on the Bradford pear trees around the Square. For a tax-dedictible $100 donation, a lighted tree will be marked in honor of your family, a service member, or in memory of a loved one. Donations will be used to purchase and maintain additional Christmas lights for use at local businesses and in public parks.
“We’re trying to raise enough money so we can present every (downtown business) with a really pretty evergreen wreath with a big red velvet bow on it to hang on their door,” says Hobbs. “Then we’d collect the wreaths in January and spruce them back up for next year.”
Hobbs suggests that ramping up the holiday cheer could also yield bigger shopping and dining receipts for downtown. She hopes that folks who come downtown to see the lights would stick around for a meal, or visit earlier to do some shopping and stay to watch the lights twinkle to life.
“Not only could (the decorations) make our town happier, it could be a revenue generator for our businesses,” says Hobbs.
To make a donation to the campaign, visit the Greater Darlington Chamber of Commerce, located at 38 Public Square, or call them at 843-393-2641.
