STEUBENVILLE, Ohio (LifeSiteNews) — A Steubenville entrepreneur and his family shared with LifeSiteNews the inspiring story of how bringing life-size nutcrackers to downtown streets set a chain reaction into motion that has revitalized their community.
In the debut episode of LSN TV’s Arts and Culture series, Mark Nelson, a father of 10 and “transplant to Steubenville,” told how the Nutcracker Village, now in its seventh year, started with a desire to rebuild and beautify Steubenville in an effort to revive the city.
“Our little town here had been gutted by the steel mills closing, right in the middle of the Rust Belt. You know, there were between 30 and 50,000 people employed, and all those jobs are gone. People lost hope. It really left the community, I think, devastated,” Mark told LSN TV. “So we’re not just revitalizing old buildings and the streets, but actually really the heart of our community.”
Mark recounted how during a meeting to discuss ways to help make the city more attractive, the mayor suggested putting nutcrackers along the storefronts in downtown Steubenville. After the meeting, Nelson had the idea to make giant, life-size nutcrackers, like the original Nutcracker story’s nutcracker that magically transformed into human size. He turned to Brodie Stutzman, a woodworker in his family business, to oversee the creation of 6-foot tall nutcrackers.
Stutzman explained that “most of the ideas” for the nutcrackers come from sponsors, who will sometimes request a life-size version of small, existing nutcrackers. This year for the first time, they held a design-your-own-nutcracker contest, and replicated the winning design in a life-size version to plant in downtown Steubenville along with the rest.
Mark’s daughter, Thérèse, a nutcracker artist, said, “When we started The Nutcracker Village in 2015, we did not advertise it, because we were kind of afraid this would be the laughingstock of the (Ohio) Valley.”
“So we were pleasantly surprised when the city showed up, and it was the first time in my life that I saw anybody from every class, every demographic, every group in Steubenville. It was locals, it was downtown people, it was Franciscan students, it was Franciscan faculty, it was Christians, non-Christians … I think that was hope-inducing for all of us to know that Steubenville would come together.”
Mark said the “very night” of the unveiling of the Nutcracker Village, “everybody that was there experienced the change. It allowed us to see the hope that sprang in people’s eyes and the love of their community that began again.”
“[It] gave me the confidence to purchase a big commercial building and try and revitalize it with my family,” said Mark, sharing how the building now houses a coffee shop, Christmas store, and the family’s Steubenville Popcorn Company.
“This is only possible because of the tourism that’s occurred because of The Nutcracker project. And that’s being replicated. I think there’s 30 to 40 buildings that have sold in downtown Steubenville in the last five or six years,” he continued.
“It’s exciting to see other people get involved because of The Nutcracker Village and because of some of the risks that we took.”
Thérèse shared how other Christmas attractions have since cropped up in downtown Steubenville, in keeping with the “Eastern European feel” they’re aiming for.
“We’ve brought a lot of aspects from different eastern European countries and their Christmas traditions to our event. Some of my favorites are BlueVine Garden, which is German spiced wine, and Christkindlmarket, which is put on by the local Fort Steuben,” Thérèse said.
Mark said, “Really, the nutcrackers are the instrument to really bring people together at Christmas. You end up seeing families together, you see generations of families holding hands, walking down the street, taking photographs.”
“But what you’re seeing is love. You’re seeing hope, you’re seeing togetherness. You’re seeing family. It provides that place for love and hope to grow.”
A glimpse of the effect on the city is found in one woman’s comment to Mark on his Facebook page: “I love downtown Steubenville now. Never thought I would be able to say that. Thank you for all you have done.”
The Nutcracker Village is on display from the Tuesday before Thanksgiving through Epiphany.
You can find religious artwork and merchandise at Nelson’s www.CatholicToTheMax.com.