Residents wanted more Christmas displays. It was a message
Charlestown Clerk-Treasurer Donna Coomer heard repeatedly when she campaigned for her seat more than two decades ago.
So she and others, including then-mayor Bob Hall, set out on their plan. That first year, she said volunteers worked countless hours, hanging thousands of lights in the city square.
“It was a lot of community spirit. Everybody loved to do it,” Coomer said,
The first year was magical, she said. That season’s snow felt like the cherry on top.
A quarter of a century later, Coomer said Charlestown’s holiday celebration still brings a sense of wonder, and a sense of pride for many residents.
“To me, Light Up Charlestown is more than just a tradition,” she said. “It's a way of remembering those who helped build it and honoring them.”
The city now boasts multiple displays. Visitors can take the Charlestown Express train around an animated light show in the city square and visit the 55-foot Christmas tree and lights display in Greenway Park. It’s what Mayor Treva Hodges calls the “Hallmark movie” part of the festival.
There’s also a winter market at the Family Activities Center and special guests throughout the month like Santa, the Grinch, and Buddy the Elf and Jovie.
Festivities officially kick off Friday with Light Up Charlestown and continue through December with Charlestown: Christmas City!
It’s become a destination, drawing visitors from across the region to the small city with a population of less than 10,000. Hodges said there’s been a 25% increase in visitors since 2019.
Many see it as an annual tradition, and others like to mark special events there, like a baby’s first light show or an engagement.
“It's a tradition that I'm honored to get to keep, and it really has become a way to set ourselves aside and celebrate our down-home family feel,” Hodges said. “Charlestown is growing…but one of the things we have not lost is that small town charm. [This is] our way of celebrating the season and giving families memorable experiences that they can come and share with each other.”
For Sandy McCombs, Charlestown’s lights hold a special magic.
Two years ago, she married the love of her life at a small venue just off the city square on New Year’s Eve, decades after they’d first met. Outside the doors of the where the wedding and reception were held, the city’s animated light show lit up the night.
McCombs and her husband, Barry Bramblett, fell in love as teenagers. Life took them in different directions, but McCombs said she never forgot that love. A few years ago, they reunited.
“We picked right back up where we left off,” she said. “And we are so totally compatible and happy, and he's the most handsome groom on Earth and a fabulous husband. And it's just been a dream come true.”
McCombs said she was blown away when as she started to walk down the aisle, she saw so many people had come to celebrate their union, some she hadn’t seen in years.
“Everybody knew this was just a really sincere situation and a love that just lasted the test of time,” she said.
And the city played a part in making the night memorable.
Hodges didn’t know the couple, but when she learned about their wedding, she wanted to do something special.
During the reception, the couple got a message to step outside.
The city had programmed the light show to show their wedding colors, and there was a congratulatory message on the marquis. The newlyweds and their guests were invited to dance to a song they loved — Elvis Presley’s “I Can’t Help Falling in Love With You.”
“It was the sweetest surprise that she did that for us,” McCombs said, adding that their guests have returned to see the lights with them.
Hodges said she was glad Charlestown was able to help contribute to their celebration.
“It was a really sweet moment,” she said. “When you've got somebody that's that dedicated to coming and seeing the show, you certainly want to help them celebrate their union.”
McCombs said she loves Charlestown — she and Bramblett live on a farm outside the city limits. And she’s so happy with how everything worked out — being reunited with her love, having that love acknowledged by friends and family and then supported by the city.
“It changed me,” she said. “When you show kindness to other people, and compassion, it changes you. The world needs more of that, and that's what Christmas is all about. So it meant everything to me to have it in Charlestown the way that it happened.”
Where to celebrate in Southern Indiana
Charlestown kicks off a month of celebration Friday, with Light up Charlestown starting at 5 p.m. The city will glow through the end of the year, with an animated light show at the city square, 55-foot Christmas tree in Greenway Park train rides, a winter market and visits with Santa, the Grinch and Buddy and Jovie the elves.
For more information, visit charlestownparks.com.
Jeffersonville kicks off the holiday season Saturday, with a North Pole Party on Court Avenue starting at 4 p.m. It includes rides, games, entertainment and visits with Santa. At 6 p.m., the Holiday Lights Parade will travel up Spring Street, and once that’s finished, Mayor Mike Moore will flip the switch to the lights at Warder Park on Court Avenue.
Light up New Albany is Saturday from 6 to 8 p.m. at 118 E. Spring Street The celebration includes crafts, face painting, cookies and hot chocolate. Nov. 30 is also Small Business Saturday.
Coverage of Southern Indiana is funded, in part, by Samtec Inc., the Hazel & Walter T. Bales Foundation, and the Caesars Foundation of Floyd County.
