Beginning this Thursday, December 4th, Christmasville will return to downtown Rock Hill, SC. If you’re not familiar with it, Christmasville is a 4 day celebration of the Christmas holiday and it involves many of Rock Hill’s downtown and local businesses.
As stated on the Christmasville website,
“Did you ever open a storybook and want to step inside? Or dream of a simpler time – filled with music and merriment and festive folks brimming with good cheer? If so, then bundle up the family and become part of the whimsical world of Vernon Grant!
Once again this December the Main Streets of Old Town, in historic downtown Rock Hill, SC, will come alive as a charming, picturesque holiday village and outdoor walking art festival. ChristmasVille celebrates the art of adopted Rock Hill son, Vernon Grant, who is the artist of the famed Kellogg’s Rice Krispies characters Snap! Crackle! Pop!, cousins of ChristmasVille’s Grant the Gnome.”
Events kick off on Thursday at 9am and run almost continuously through Sunday at 9pm when the last event, the Journey to Bethlehem which is an interactive walk-through of the entire Christmas story, wraps up.
So, if you’re looking for some ways to kick off your Christmas season the right way, you definitely don’t want to miss the festivities this weekend at Rock Hill’s Christmasville 2008!
Filed under Fun Stuff, Life In the Carolinas, Rock Hill SC by 
With the Christmas holiday just a few short weeks away, it’s time to start getting your Rock Hill SC home into the holiday spirit. While it can be a daunting task, it doesn’t have to be!
Here are 5 quick holiday decorating tips to help make the task quick and easy:
- Decorate EVERYTHING with bows. Nothing says ‘Holiday Season’ more than some festive bows around the house. While red and green are what everything thinks of, if you don’t have any, feel free to use other colors. And if you can’t find a color or print that feels right, go for the gold or silver foil like ribbons.
- Use festive dinnerware for EVERY meal. This one’s actually pretty simple to do. Instead of using the same old boring dinner ware you use all year, round up the holiday dinner ware and use it for every meal. It will definitely add an air of ‘Holiday Cheer’ to the dinner time equation!
- Turn on the holiday lights and the normal lights off. Once you go through the trouble to actually hang your holiday lights, use them at every opportunity. There’s nothing that says “It’s Christmas time” more than some twinkling Christmas lights strewn throughout the house. And don’t be afraid to hang them on more than the tree.
- Hang holiday wreaths inside and out. Just like some festive bows, a few holiday wreaths spread through the house will let everyone know it’s holiday time. Check the home improvement or craft stores for some great deals on wreaths if you don’t have enough to achieve the proper holiday ‘feel’.
- Turn on the Christmas tunes! I’m sorry but there’s nothing that can bring the holiday spirit faster than some nice holiday music playing softly in the background. There are several local radio stations here in Rock Hill that play Christmas music 24/7 so either turn on the radio or put on your favorite CD and sit back and enjoy the spirit that comes with. I promise you’ll be in the Christmas spirit in no time flat!
I hope these 5 quick tips help as you look for ways to quickly get into the holiday spirit!
Filed under Fun Stuff, Home Decorating by
The NC state banking commissioner’s office today announced that some 4,800 North Carolina homeowners would be receiving a total of $11.5MM of refunds from Countrywide Mortgage as a result of “illegal charges†levied against the homeowners.
According to deputy banking commissioner Mark Pearce, “we found evidence that Countrywide overcharged thousands of North Carolina homeowners. This settlement provides for a full refund of any illegal charges identified in the course of our examination.â€
Countrywide, which was purchased by Charlotte, NC’s Bank of America in July did not admit any wrong doing as part of the settlement.
In addition to the $11.5MM settlement, Countrywide also agreed to give $2 million to several NC non-profit housing counseling agencies that help struggling homeowners work out payment plans with their lenders so they can avoid foreclosure. They will also give $900K to the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System in order to help the state improve the licensing and regulation of mortgage lenders.
To see if you’re eligible for this refund, you can call the bank commissioner’s consumer complaint hotline at 1-888-384-3811.
Get all the story details here.
Filed under Carolina Business News, Carolina Real Estate, Charlotte NC by
My husband and I had every intention of sending out holiday cards last year, but it was mid-January before we realized it was too late. Whoops!
So this year, we made it a point to make sure they got out. So while his parents were visiting last week for Thanksgiving we had them take this family picture, which we intend to use for holiday cards, which will hopefully go out in the next week!
The Salisbury Family - Rock Hill SC - Christmas 2008
Filed under Fun Stuff, Photo of the Week, Rock Hill SC by
With tonight’s NFL game between our hometown Carolina Panthers and the rival Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the whole world will have their eyes on downtown Charlotte, NC. As ESPN’s TV crews have rolled into town over the past few days, it’s been a fantastic opportunity to showcase what a great place Charlotte and the surrounding areas are to live.
For me personally, I’m very excited about the prospects of what tonight’s game means. Not only is it a chance for the Panthers to clinch sole possession of the NFC South division, but it’s also an opportunity to highlight many of the features that make the Carolinas such a GREAT place to live.
If you can’t make it to the stadium tonight, or don’t have a ticket, don’t fret. The game airs on ESPN starting at 8:30pm ET.
Filed under Carolina Sports Beat, Charlotte NC, Fun Stuff by
