Shoppers from near and far were treated with warm weather and holiday greetings during Vicksburg Main Street Program’s 13th annual Old Fashioned Christmas Open House Sunday afternoon.

The event featured a return of Santa Claus to The Valley building, where he once greeted the parents and grandparents of Sunday’s shoppers.

If you go

The Downtown Christmas Parade of Lights is set for 5 p.m. Saturday on Washington Street. This year’s theme is Christmas Through a Child’s Eyes.

Merchants along Washington Street were open from 1 to 5 p.m. for the event that Executive Director Kim Hopkins said attracted nearly 500 people.

“It was great,” she said. “We had a lot of people come to shop here and kept their money in Vicksburg.” It was also a prelude to the Downtown Christmas Parade of Lights set for 5 p.m. Saturday. This year’s theme is Christmas Through a Child’s Eyes.

Temperatures reached as high as 73 degrees while people strolled up and down the street. Christmas carols played in the background and holiday ornaments and decorations adorned the windows of each shop enticing patrons to search for good deals. The first 100 shoppers who spent at least $25 at a downtown shop were treated to a poinsettia given away by Main Street.

Long-time friends Pat Barnes of Vicksburg and Pat Pettway-Stagg of Monroe, La., were both in line to each receive a potted flower. “I bought gifts for about two to three people,” Barnes said. “But we’re just getting started.”

The event also drew shoppers from other surrounding areas including Clinton, Madison and Texas.

“We come here every year for this,” said Cookie Schemmel of Clinton. “We’ve been to every store for our holiday shopping. It’s just a lot of fun.” Schemmel, who has been doing her Christmas shopping in Vicksburg for 12 years, took her 10-year-old daughter, Samantha, to see Santa who had returned to The Valley after nearly 25 years. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been to The Valley,” Santa said.

The store was a downtown mainstay for more than a century and has been converted to corporate apartments that opened earlier this year.

Hopkins added, “We had children, dogs and adults young and old who have come to get their picture taken with Santa. Having Santa at The Valley did help bring more people downtown.”

The downtown area declined as a shopping destination in the 1970s as Battlefield, since razed, and later Pemberton Square malls rose. Urban renewal downtown starting eight years ago reinvigorated the area and today it joins Pemberton Square and the Outlets at Vicksburg as centers for local commerce. Santa is also greeting shoppers at the mall and outlets.

The Valley’s director of operations, Tracye Prewitt, said, “Kim and I determined that when The Valley opened, we were going to bring Santa back because that’s the main memory I hear at the building. People have enjoyed seeing Santa back.” Nearly 200 people got their picture taken with the big man in the red suit.

Prewitt said The Valley will continue to host Santa every year during the holidays. For rest of the holiday season, Hopkins said Santa will be visiting each downtown shop on the weekends for people to get their picture taken.

Also during the Sunday event, Prewitt offered guided tours of the apartments. Peggy Standiford had not been in the building since she was a teenager in the mid-1960s working in the jewelry and cosmetics department. She had moved away to Kansas and returned about five years ago.

“This is my first time back in the building,” she said. “I can’t understand why it ever closed. It was wonderful here.”

Others who were also excited about the open house were the merchants.

“This has been my busiest open house,” said Norma Massey, owner of the 60-year-old Frederick’s Shoe Store. She noticed, “People were more in the mood to shop.”

Over at Cinnamon Tree, another crowd gathered to browse through holiday decoration items.

“It was very good today,” owner Karen Ruggles said. “The weather was great and we had a big turnout. I’m looking forward to a good holiday season.” She said a hot holiday item is the mesh ribbon, which can be used for decorations.

Hopkins said most merchants have extended their daily holiday hours through 6:30 p.m. or later. Sunday hours are from 1 to 5 p.m. through Christmas Eve.

A free shuttle service and help with packages will be offered to shoppers while merchants offer free gift wrapping. A different set of carolers will be cheering on holiday spirit each weekend.

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Contact Manivanh Chanprasith at mchan@vicksburgpost.com