ALDERSON W.Va. (WVDN) – Recently, it was announced that the Christmas light show at the State Fairgrounds, which has been wildly popular the last few years, was taking this year off for general maintenance and to have the grounds ready for other events in the future.
At the time, the announcement was a gut punch for all who enjoyed it, but now, something new will debut to put families in the holiday spirit more than ever.
Christmas at The Cedars, created by Rachel Warner Baker and her husband Jayson, will hold its inaugural celebration on December 13 and 14, and is described as a huge outdoor market and Christmas Village that will provide activities, nostalgia, and fun for ALL ages.
The owners of the popular coffee shop, Manic Espresso, Rachel and Jayson, did not give themselves much time to prepare for what they hope is a grand event that will be loved by everyone, but once the couple found a giant Christmas tree at their new property, that was a sign they took to go for it.
“We have this amazing, historic property and giant barn, and we were throwing around ideas on ways to use it. A friend mentioned we should do something for Christmas, which is BY FAR my favorite time of year – so I instantly started thinking,” Rachel said.
“Then, shortly afterward, we stumbled upon a giant Christmas tree in a wooden box in a barn stall we hadn’t explored yet, and Christmas at The Cedars was officially born. And because I’m incapable of doing anything without going all out and making it the best I can and overwhelming myself, my family, and my amazing staff, it kept growing and growing until it became this. But also, all that growth happened in a very short time because we decided to officially make it happen at the beginning of October, so we’ve been behind schedule since inception. I think most people would plan something like this for a year or more, but we’re like hey, we should do it in like eight weeks,” she added with a smile.
This barn will turn into a magical place for Christmas at the Cedars.
The event is going to have so much entertainment and things to do and if anyone is wondering exactly what it will entail, Rachel explains it with her love of the Christmas holiday in her heart.
“Christmas at The Cedars, in one sentence, is basically my childhood dreams come true. I LOVE Christmas,” she exclaimed.
“But you know how as you get older Christmas seems like it comes faster, is so much more hectic, and never “feels” the same as it did when you were little. This is my attempt to recreate that amazing, overwhelming, family/hearth/home excitement and joy and peace that you had surrounding Christmas when you were little. And if you didn’t get it when you were little, then I’m even more excited to help you experience that now,” she continued.
The activities planned are expected to be massive and Rachel could not be more excited about that part.
“We are hoping that we give the community a nostalgic, family-oriented, exciting, warm, cozy, joy-filled grandma’s house Christmas experience, except bigger. We want people to come and feel like they can spend an entire afternoon, or both afternoons. That’s why we are planning activities that are fun for mom, dad and the kiddos,” she said.
“Dads can sled or do our axe-throwing competition, moms can shop and sip coffee or cider, a couple can pick out their Christmas tree and kiddos can too. There’s way too much to list for them. We’ll have games, movies, sledding, a snow play area, a petting zoo, Mrs. Claus’s Magic Kitchen, and more. We hope everyone stops at our North Pole Log Cabin and has photos done with Santa. We want everyone to chill by the bonfires, watch movies, go on hayrides, eat snacks and drink hot chocolate, enjoy the lights, etc. We want the experience to be as immersive as possible.”
Wilbur the donkey is sure to be a hit during the event and will be featured in the petting zoo.
Since this is the very first Christmas at The Cedars, Rachel and Jayson aren’t sure what to expect and the unknown makes them a little nervous.
“Never having done anything like this, we have no point of reference for an event of this scale. We aren’t sure whether to expect 500 or 5,000 people,” Rachel stated.
“We are planning big, and working hard, but it’s always scary not knowing what we don’t know. What did we not think of that we won’t know until the day of? Have we planned enough of everything? Have we overplanned? Also, super nervous that it won’t be cold enough to make snow. But the long-term models are looking REALLY promising.”
Rachel is still happy that Jayson helped with most of the decisions. He is more laid back, but Rachel knows the support he gives her is his top priority.
“I’m really lucky. Jayson’s number one goal in life is to support making my dreams happen. I basically rolled up and said “hey, I want to do this Christmas event, I need a donkey, some goats, rabbits and miscellaneous livestock, a sleigh, and a bank loan.” He jumped in immediately and basically said you can’t do all that and not have a snowmaker and began brainstorming how to make it bigger than I could have thought of on my own. We make a really good team, and he believes in most of my ideas. There’s been a few he has shot down, but not many. Genuinely, he’s a pretty easy sell and we work so well together, and we have a lot of fun,” Rachel explained.
If Christmas at The Cedars is successful, it will become an annual thing, and if possible, will get even bigger than its inaugural celebration.
“We are doing and planning everything with the goal of making this a yearly thing. We will most likely make it a weekly event next Christmas season, so people will have more opportunity to enjoy it, and we also plan to grow it every year. This is just the beginning, but we REALLY want to kick it off in the best way possible, right off the bat. And, we have more exciting ideas coming for other seasons,” Rachel said with a grin.
Folks are encouraged to come out and enjoy Christmas at The Cedars. If nothing else, the light display will be worth the trip by itself as they were ordered and arrived on a semi-truck.
“We went a little crazy on the Christmas light budget and have been doing a lot of work on the barn and property,” Rachel said.
“We really hope the community feels the love we’ve poured into the event. If everyone leaves smiling and happy they came, we’ve definitely accomplished our goals. We want everyone to be excited for next year, wondering what else we’ll add to make it even better,” she concluded.
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