This post documents my experience on December 2, 2017.
I drove to Historic Zoar Village…
…followed parking signs next to the church (or Meeting House)…
…purchased my admission for a wristband…
…and explored the Christmas in Zoar festival.
At first, the map was overwhelming…
…as there were various things to check out all over the village.
But, thanks to a lot of signage…
…I easily found attractions that included guided home tours…
…musical and educational performances in the Meeting House…
…some special Zoar pretzels…
…served warm by the Pretzel Lady…
…and houses holding special activities (Garden House)…
…such as a plant sale..
…an arts and crafts room for children…
…and a meet and greet with St. Nicholas himself…
…accompanied, this year, by his crotchety companion Belsnickel.
Further exploration through the village…
…brought me to the bakery…
…for a possible loaf of bread…
…an open home…
…to take in some old fashioned Christmas decor (Pine Cone Gift Shoppe)…
…the Zoar Store…
…for odds and ends…
…and various small attractions all along the way.
I found the festival’s craft show split up among the school house…
…the fire station…
…and within some set tents in-between…
…and their offerings included everything from jewelry…
…wood crafts (Bob Speicher)…
…metallic ornaments (Laura Kovach)…
…antique and modern Christmas decor…
…hand-crafted psalteries (Spring Creek)…
…illuminated framed images…
…and even some eclectic doll-inspired sculptures.
This general area of the village was also where I found a few outside food vendors…
…with indoor eating options including the basement of the Meeting House…
…and inside the fire station…
…although I should warn you that there were sugar frosted and chocolate dangers only a short distance away.