The City of Greer has “decked the halls” in downtown — with hundreds of festive decorations lining the city streets in time for the holidays.
Travis Durham, director of public services for the city, says that his team has put in around 600 labor hours putting up the decor. This includes 289 garland wraps on light posts, 60 hanging lights on wooden poles and the two town trees.
The decorating process for the town starts in the first full week of November. This year comes with some new decorations, including two giant ornament sets downtown, a gift box arch near the Historic Greer Depot and a deer family photo op in Greer City Park.
“It’s become kind of a fine-tuned operation at this point,” Durham said. “I’ve seen a lot of folks taking pictures with [the decorations] and posting on social media. They look fantastic.”
The team putting up town decorations is made up of fewer than 30 city employees. Durham says that they try to start early to give themselves time to troubleshoot any problems that may arise. By the time the town’s Christmas festivities kick off, the decorations are all in place and ready to go.
“There’s a lot that goes into it and a lot of issues that we’re able to mask,” Durham said. “Usually, right around the week of Thanksgiving, everything comes together, [giving] that small town warm and fuzzy feeling.”
Durham describes the feeling of seeing all of the decorations put up as reminiscent of stepping into a Hallmark Christmas film. Both Durham and Lindsey Shaffer, the city’s tourism specialist, say that they hope the downtown decorations add to the Christmas cheer felt by residents.
“We have a few new decorations around downtown this year, along with the classic favorites,” Shaffer said. “We hope that everyone who visits downtown Greer enjoys the festive atmosphere and feels a sense of cheer and warmth this holiday season.”
For information on the town’s holiday events, visit the City of Greer’s seasonal events webpage.
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