Corning's historic Market Street got dressed up in holiday lights Saturday for an annual Christmas celebration. People from all over the Twin Tiers and upstate New York came to get into the spirit of the season. Megan Zhang was there and explains what draws people to this 41-year-old event year after year.
CORNING, N.Y. -- Snow was the only thing missing as Corning's Market Street became a winter wonderland for the annual Sparkle event. Restaurants and shops set up booths to take part in the festivities.
"We have some different merchandise than we usually do in the spirit of Christmas, so it was kind of fun gathering those items and hoping that people will also find them joyful and use them as gifts," said Suzanne Patterson, owner of Twin Brooks Maple.
Other vendors hoped to raise money for their cause during the season of giving. An Elmira church that was damaged by a tornado a few years ago sold handmade stuffed dogs.
"Quilted dogs to help get us out of the dog house. Trying to get community members to pay attention to different issues," said Donna Wagner, First United Church of Christ council member.
Some people may not be feeling the Christmas spirit quite so much this year because of how unusually warm it's been, but that'll probably change after Sparkle. In fact people came from all over to get in the Christmas mood.
"We're coming home with all kinds of ornaments, we're gonna see what we can find here on the street tonight, we're gonna have dinner at one of the local restaurants and check you guys out and have a ball," said Buffalo resident Jon Switzer.
Some who had never been to Sparkle before say they were immediately impressed by how much the event had to offer.
"It's pretty incredible. We love the way it looks. We're looking forward to the lights, we're looking forward to the fireworks, we're looking forward to everything -- seeing our good friends here," said Mark Thurston from Athens, Penn.
The event ended up with a bang when a fireworks show closed out the evening.