After the grandeur of the Victorian Christmas at the courthouse event  has died down and the staff jump back to the 21st century, one may wonder how all of this could have been put together, and how they will set it all up again next year.

Early in the planning process is where the bulk of the general planning goes on. After that a group of planners and volunteers choose the artists, such as painters and jewelers, that will be at the event. They usually try to find local businesses and hand made gifts to make the array of artwork unique. As an added bonus the Stillwater Lift Bridge provided both beer and sparkling apple cider for the event.

Parks Coordinator Carolyn Phelps said, “We also have to do advertising,  print tickets and programs,  do press releases and more. “They try to advertise through social media outlets as well as posters and flyers to gather up the future attendees.

Along with that, volunteers were a huge part of getting the event to happen. They put together the decorations and the vendor spaces. When the event began, the volunteers helped serve the food and beverages to the patrons, staff the vendor booth and sell merchandise and food.

Peter Mott, who helped plan the event, said, “I cannot say this enough, volunteers are the reason for our continued success in the community. Without them, we couldn’t do this event.”

If all the planning goes smoothly and both returning and new volunteers step up, the only problems that occur are there are too many people crowding the rooms of the courthouse.

People have been organizing this event annually for 21 years now, making over $275,000 for the restoration and renovation of the Stillwater Historical courthouse. Events like these are what keep the over 100 year old courthouse in a healthy state.

The event is about keeping the history in the building and Stillwater alive.

Mott said, “Personally, my highlight is seeing everyone from the community in this Historic building celebrating the building’s past and future.” The community in and around Stillwater made the Christmas at the courthouse happen.