Last year, Michelle Evans of the Quarryville Borough Authority approached borough manager Scott Peiffer with an idea she had been dreaming of for years: a Christmas celebration that would bring the entire community together. Peiffer liked the idea, and he helped Evans start a committee of volunteers to get the ball rolling on the inaugural Christmas in Q-ville, which was held in December 2022.

The holiday event featured a wide variety of festive activities for children and adults alike, and it was met with an overwhelmingly positive response from local residents. The only issue encountered by the borough was that Christmas in Q-ville was far more popular than it had anticipated. "We were ecstatic to have such a good turnout, having never hosted it before," Peiffer said. "We thought we would see 1,000 guests at most, but more than 4,000 people showed up."

On Saturday, Dec. 9, Christmas in Q-ville will return to the Solanco Fairgrounds, 101 Park Ave., Quarryville. From 2 to 7 p.m., the fairgrounds will be animated once more with holiday activities such as pony rides, s'mores roasting, barrel train rides, Christmas movie screenings, a petting zoo, and a visit with Santa and Mrs. Claus. Live entertainment will be provided throughout the day by the Flipside Big Band, Ian Carroll Trio, Octorara High School Senior Brass, Solanco Student Singers and multiple other groups.

Attendees may drop off nonperishable food items in the Hess's BBQ Pavilion to be entered in a prize drawing. Donations will support Solanco Neighborhood Ministries' food bank.

Although the celebration will feature many of the same community-favorite activities as last year, the planning committee has added a few new attractions to the already tightly packed schedule, including a carousel to offer rides throughout the day. This year, the event will also introduce a holiday cookie contest from 2 to 4 p.m. To enter the contest, participants must deliver one dozen cookies on a disposable plate to Building 7. Each submission must include the contestant's name, age, phone number, email address and cookie name. A panel of judges will review the cookies at 4 p.m., and the winners will be announced at 5 p.m. A first-place winner will be chosen for the adult and youth categories, and both winners will receive a prize.

After witnessing the popularity of the first event, Peiffer has made a few adjustments to Christmas in Q-ville this year to improve attendees' experience. Food vendors are stocking up to avoid running low on refreshments, and activity placement has been rearranged to better suit large crowds. "I'm excited to see how the changes work out. I think people will be able to relax more and get to take advantage of more activities," Peiffer said.

For more information, visit https://tinyurl.com/qvillexmas23.