Santa Claus talks during ChristmasVille’s opening ceremony in Rock Hill on Dec. 5, 2024. (Provided/Aaron Sheffield, ChristmasVille)
ROCK HILL — Vernon Grant wasn’t born in Rock Hill. But the illustrator’s influence on the city was so significant that it inspired two festivals, both of which have become so popular they separated from the city that started them.
Last year, ChristmasVille set out on its own for the first time since its inception in 2006. It’s one of the two events based on Grant’s distinctive drawings of gnomes and other creatures that include the Rice Krispies mascots.
The festival, which has in recent years drawn as many as 80,000 people, had become too big for the city to run, so it made the switch to become a nonprofit run by a board of directors, said Executive Director Gracie Waldrop.
Among the board’s new responsibilities was finding the money to put on all the events and keep its signature events free, Waldrop said.
“We have a lot more independence but a lot more responsibility,” Waldrop said. “Our community, really, they expect a lot out of ChristmasVille, so it’s a huge pleasure and a huge honor to make sure that we’re upholding their standards and expectations each year.”
A $72,000 earmark in this year’s state budget allowed the festival, which took place Dec. 5-8, to continue offering five of its signature events at no cost to the community.
“ChristmasVille has been a staple event taking place in downtown Rock Hill since 2006,” Rep. Heath Sessions, R-Rock Hill, wrote in his request for state money. “The board is now charged with raising the close to $400,000 budget to hold the event!”
Years ago, visitors had to pay to ride the rides and play on the inflatables scattered throughout downtown during the four-day festival. But city leaders eventually decided they wanted everyone to be able to enjoy as much of the festival as possible, especially during a time of year that can put a financial strain on families, Waldrop said.
“One big part of ChristmasVille is everybody can experience the magic of Christmas and the holiday season regardless of your socioeconomic status, or whether or not you have a lot of time or a little time to hang out downtown,” Waldrop said.
The free events give poor families, children, seniors and people with disabilities an extra bit of holiday magic on top of the festival itself, Waldrop said.
Each year, the festival invites 50 to 60 families who are struggling financially or have experienced a major tragedy over the past year to eat a special meal, see a theatrical production, go ice skating and take professional family photos. This year, for the first time, every child and each family as a whole also received a small gift, Waldrop said.
The festival also includes an exposition each year with activities geared toward older adults. This year included dancing, live cooking demonstrations and line dancing representing holidays from different cultures.
All families can visit a dozen stops emulating Santa’s workshop that line Main Street with activities for children. As children decorate cookies or stack fake presents into towers they can knock down, representatives of local nonprofits are available to talk to parents about resources they offer for mental health, financial planning and other topics families may not otherwise know about.
“You might not normally have a conversation with people in these fields, but as your kid’s standing there playing or writing a letter to Santa or a hero across the ocean, those conversations naturally happen,” Waldrop said.
To make sure people who might not otherwise be able to enjoy the festival get a chance to meet Santa Claus, the festival also hosts Sensory Sensitive Santa. A local coffee shop away from louder, more chaotic parts of the event shuts down for the day, letting autistic children and other people who get overwhelmed during the big festival spend some time talking to the jolly old man, Waldrop said.
The events are an essential part of making the festival special for everybody, giving people a break from a season that is often stressful, Waldrop said.
“It really just takes people out of the chaos that is Christmas and just this life in general and gives them quality time together that’s not based on rushing around,” Waldrop said.
Already, the board of directors is planning for the 2025 festival, which will take place Dec. 4-7.
That includes choosing the theme for the coming year.
Each year’s theme is based around a drawing by Grant, who spent about half his life in Rock Hill. The artist is most famous for designing Snap, Crackle and Pop, the mascots for Kellogg’s Rice Krispies, in 1933. But his illustrations also include dozens of Christmas cards depicting a distinctive version of Santa Claus and his helper gnomes.
Born in Nebraska and raised in South Dakota, Grant moved to Rock Hill with his wife and their children soon after World War II. He spent several years commuting between Rock Hill and New York, making drawings for advertising campaigns and magazines, before shifting his focus to farming in the 1950s.
Grant designated the Museum of York County as the repository for his work in the 1970s. It received his official collection in 2006, 16 years after Grant’s death.
Along with ChristmasVille, his frog illustrations spawned Come-See-Me, Rock Hill’s annual springtime festival founded in 1962.
The theme for this year’s ChristmasVille festival, “Wonderful, Whimsical Wishes,” came from a drawing of Santa and a gnome pulling apart a wishbone. Next year, the chosen drawing is Santa’s Seal of Approval, in which Santa looks on as a gnome decorates a doll version of Santa.
That theme seems fitting for the 20th anniversary, as if Santa Claus were giving his approval to the festival itself, Waldrop said.
“He’s such a widely known artist, and his art is really timeless. It resonates with every generation, regardless of your experience with him,” Waldrop said. “It’s really fun to be able to put a festival on that honors his legacy.”