Beckley, WV – (WWNR) – Christmas came early to the Beckley-Raleigh County Convention Center this past weekend.
The second annual “Believe In The Magic” craft and vendor Christmas show hosted over 80 local businesses displaying unique gifts, handmade arts and crafts, candles, jewelry, woodwork and food. The show was sponsored by Childers Air, Plumbing and Electric, Lewis Nissan and Mr. Sparky, and hosted by Southern Communications.
“A lot of people have been coming in to see all the vendors, signing up for a lot of the prizes,” said Southern Communications Marketing Consultant Jim Sassak.
“It’s roughly a month before Christmas Day. People are coming out early instead of going to the malls, they come see us and a lot of the vendors here have something different like there’s people that make wreaths, people that make wood signs and something new we added this year were middle school choirs from around the area and that adds a different touch to the show as well.”
In addition to the middle school choirs, there was music from Christian singer Susan Ketron and musician Cassidy Dickens. There was also story time with the Ice Queen, face painting for the kids and appearances by Santa and Mrs. Claus, the Grinch and Snowball the Polar Bear. But the big star of the show was Horse Santa, presented by the Broken Spur Riding Academy in Beaver.
“We have been at the Women’s Expo before, but we’ve never actually brought the horse,” said Broken Spur Executive Director Sarah Dorsey. “So this year for Christmas, we decided we actually just bring him along with us.”
“Everything that we do here, whether it be taking pictures with Horse Santa or selling our T shirts and stuff is to benefit our non profit organization. We teach individuals with disabilities, whether it be physical, mental, social, or cognitive, how to ride horses, and we teach horsemanship skills. And we also work with able bodied riders.”
Broken Spur won Best Booth at the Believe In the Magic Show; Nancy Webb with Webb’s Wonders was second and Leslie & Morgan’s Crochet Corner was third. The People’s Choice Award went to Savannah Confections In Beckley.
