A portal into a “fairy tale storybook” experience, is how Anthony Marotta described his recent visit to Peddler’s Village.
Just minutes after more than a million lights washed across the village green, Marotta stood, one arm around his son and another arm extended with a cell phone. Under the glowing branches of a towering Christmas tree, he took a selfie, staying true to the family’s annual tradition to witness the Grand Illumination.
He said the lights, the feeling and the “Charles Dickens” like setting of Peddler’s sparks something special in his son Matteo, who has autism.
“This is a place where he can decompress. We get language out of him we don’t get in other places because he’s so happy.”
On the evening of Nov. 14, “magic” was the word frequently heard as thousands dressed in their festive best gathered around a stage in the center of Peddler’s Village awaiting the Grand Illumination. “Timeless” is what New Hope resident Joe Robl called it. Standing with his 7-year-old grandson on his shoulders, he said Peddler’s Village has offered a holiday charm that has kept him returning for decades. Now, he wants to share that tradition with his grandson, who held on to his neck and was wearing a hat with small light bulbs dousing his face in shades of red, white and green.
PHOTOS: Peddler’s Village During The Holidays
Despite shopping, eating and visiting Peddlers for years, he stood waiting to see the Grand Illumination for the first time. Everyone waited for the same moment.
Then, after musical and dancing performances, with Santa and Mrs. Claus at center stage, the countdown began. A flip of a switch, and suddenly, the dimly lit courtyard exploded into color. Lights on tree limbs, storefronts, lamp posts, and bridges lit up the village. Snow machines puffed flakes into the air as children atop shoulders tilted their heads skyward, mouths open, trying to catch a taste.
It’s a tradition that has drawn families for decades, and for many, it marks the true start of the holiday season. Local dance groups, a country music duo, characters like The Grinch perform, while Joe Albert, director of festivals and events at Peddler’s Village, emcees throughout the night.
While families huddle around the green and wait for the scheduled 6:15 p.m. lighting during the illumination, few realize the level of coordination behind that moment.
“It’s a very well orchestrated, finely tuned process to get all the lights on at 6:15, although it’s made to look easy,” said Christine Triantos, vice president of marketing and communications at Peddler’s Village.
“Once it goes on, it’s officially the holidays for Peddler’s,” she said. “We get thousands of visitors that evening and opening weekend and through mid-January.”
During the season, the village, which sits in Buckingham and Solebury townships, extends its hours and shops open until 9 p.m. on weekdays and 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
The Grand Illumination kicked off dozens of holiday events hosted at Peddlers, and while it appears – by plan – to happen nearly instantly, it stems from a marathon effort that begins in late summer.
“We start decorating in August, decorating the larger trees in the water way from the main green up through the water wheel,” said Edwin Vazquez Jr., director of facilities.
The crew of groundskeepers, painters, carpenters, and maintenance technicians transform the village piece by piece.
“When it comes to Christmas decorating, everyone is involved, even the corporate office,” Vazquez said.
The preparation is both massive and meticulous. Employees, he said, wrap about 100 light posts in garland and bulbs. Maintenance techs check wiring and coordinate more than dozens of timers. In the final two weeks before illumination, the project consumes “75 to 80 percent” of their work.
“All decorations must come down every year in January because of the growth of the trees, animals could damage the wires. “We decorate the village with over a million lights, and soon we’ll be adding more.”
The holiday lights set the stage for many other displays and events that extend into January, including a Gingerbread Competition and display, which for more than 40 years invites both professionals and families to build inventive “creations.” Visitors can see the creations through January.
“Our family has been visiting Peddlers Village at Christmas time for close to 30 years. We particularly enjoy the beautiful lights, manicured grounds, unique shops, and of course the gingerbread house display; the creativity, detail and execution is always so impressive and never disappoints. It is a special holiday tradition for our family,” said Rose Leming, who visited with her adult daughter Jackie.
Anthony Marotta said the displays at the village fill a need during the Christmas season.
“In general, that holiday feeling seems less and less, as it focuses more on retail and less on the spirit of Christmas. It’s not what it was.”
“Coming here is like stepping into a storybook…to see all the lights, the singers, the feeling inside the village brings you back to when Christmas seemed to mean so much more.”
While the holidays draw the most crowds, Triantos said Peddler’s is a year-round destination for shopping, dining, lodging, and entertainment with 60 independently owned shops, eight restaurants and eateries, the Golden Plough Inn, a 66-room hotel, and Giggleberry Fair, which is an indoor family-fun center with an antique carousel.
“In recent years, retailers here have done quite well,” she said. “It’s because we offer a personalized shopping experience that you can’t get by clicking a mouse online. It’s an adventure rather than an onerous task that has to be completed by a deadline.”
Visitors come not just for gifts and events but for human connection, she said.
“It becomes a fun family outing, or a way to gather with friends,” Triantos said. “You get merchandise you can’t find in other places and you get to have a real conversation with a knowledgeable shop owner who can share stories and recommendations.”
At a time when online shopping is easier than ever, she believes Peddler’s Village offers something you can’t get on Amazon.
“It’s an important element that honors true consumer interaction. Shopping on a computer might be efficient, but it’s not as much fun.”
Anthony and Carly Marotta take their family there throughout the year. He said their children ride the carousel at Giggleberry. His son Matteo likes to jump in the ball pit there, then head to Lahaska book shop or the jaZam’s toy store.
“This is his version of Disney world, it’s his happy place,” said his mother Carly Marotta, who has been going to Peddlers since she was a child.
With his school and therapy schedule, she said, family life can be hectic.
“He lights up. He doesn’t want to leave. I’ve been going to Peddler’s Village since I was a little girl, and it’s something I did with my parents. It’s just the perfect escape for us. And Christmas time? Well, that’s our favorite.”
Leave a Comment