Merry Millheim celebrates Christmas season

MILLHEIM — The Christmas season opened in Millheim on Friday, Nov. 30, and Saturday, Dec. 1, with the town’s eighth annual Merry Millheim celebration. This occasion featured several events including music, crafts and other activities held in and around downtown Millheim.

Friday night saw a crowd of shoppers at the Handmade Holiday Market in the Bremen Town Ballroom, where many local artisans and vendors showed their wares, including jewelry, decorative merchandise, and items made of wool, wood and metal.

Among the vendors was Rebersburg resident Cory Neidig, billed as “The Wooded Merganser.” Neidig makes a line of wooden cutting boards using wood found in the Centre County area. The boards vary in size, shape and wood species, and they show Neidig’s meticulous craftsmanship. Neidig finishes the cutting boards with a mix of beeswax and mineral oil, which he says makes them very water-resistant. Neidig began making the boards as a hobby but decided to sell them.

Josh Stover, of Spring Mills, has a blacksmith shop in Woodward where he makes several steel items via the time-honored process of heating the metal in a forge and hammering it into shape on an anvil. Items for sale included fireplace pokers, coat hooks and others.

Across Main Street, the Inglebean Coffee House was a rest stop for busy shoppers, featuring a bake sale and open mic music.

Tree-lighting and caroling took place at the Millheim Theater at 7:45 p.m. and an art show reception at the Green Drake Art Gallery featured 100 gift items for under $100. Live music was included by George Maciais, playing his own compositions on classical guitar.

Saturday’s events included a Christmas pageant at St. John’s Childhood Center on Penn Street, kids’ jewelry making at the Green Drake, a petting zoo at Calvary Church, the Handmade Holiday Market in the Bremen Town Ballroom and other events. Several merchants offered special deals for local shoppers.