Greenville Country Christmas cancelled due to lack of volunteers

Dear Editor, On behalf of the Greenville Country Christmas committee, it is with regret that I am writing this letter to inform the public that we will not be having the Greenville Country Christmas festival this year.  Like anyone who has ever attended it I have enjoyed this festival since it began in 1985.  We hope the festival can resume in the future. However, with fewer volunteers every year we have finally reached a point where it has become a full time job for a very small number of people.  Each year the committee has worked hard to recruit volunteers in newspaper notices, Facebook and around town. Meetings have always been open to the public and input welcome as long as it is accompanied by service. In the last couple of years there has been a lot of energy put into the Friday night activities by local churches but attendance has dropped more every year.  Vendor interest is also very low, reporting poor sales.    A lot of folks don’t know this but Country Christmas was revived in 2010 after it was voted to cancel it from a lack of volunteers.  Because it was the 25th anniversary, out of sentiment and love for the community some new volunteers came aboard to make the 25th anniversary festival a huge success. A committee was formed and a mission statement adopted, identifying Greenville Country Christmas as a traditional Christmas celebration. All were welcome but there was no concealment of what was being celebrated, the birth of Jesus Christ. We had seven more good years with this new format and layout, new vendors and professional entertainment.  Numerous people have stepped up over the years, taken on tasks and selflessly served in order to make Country Christmas a success. To these people we are very thankful.  What you have done does matter and has made a difference. Businesses around the county have also been very supportive of the festival. A lot of the businesses who have donated have done so strictly out of generosity as the advertising exposure they have received was unlikely to benefit them much if any at all. We are very thankful to these businesses for their support.  It has been my pleasure to serve on this committee and I appreciate all of those who have sacrificed to make Greenville Country Christmas possible. ~ Joe Reams - President (850) 948-6294