“Deck the Halls” to spotlight local tourism

Concordia's Tourism Partners are banding together once again to present "Deck the Halls," a holiday event of open houses on Saturday, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
"Deck the Halls" is a joint effort that has been created to boost local attendance at all of Concordia's tourism attractions, including The Brown Grand Theatre, the National Orphan Train Complex, the Cloud County Historical Society Museum, POW Camp Concordia, the Nazareth Motherhouse,  Broadway Plaza, the Frank Carlson Library and Cloud County Tourism.
Each venue will have a variety of refreshments, photo booths, door prizes, shopping, and tours. New this year, we will have a scavenger hunt going on at each venue. Answer the questions while you visit each attraction and turn them in to be entered to win a $100 Chamber Bucks certificate. The drawing will take place that afternoon at the Cloud County Tourism Office following the event (sponsored by the Concordia Chamber of Commerce).
In addition, each attraction will be sharing about a specific holiday tradition, so be sure to visit each location to learn more about the Holidays. More specifically, each venue will include the following:
Brown Grand Theatre, 310 West Sixth St. — Santa will be at the Brown Grand. It will be open to the public and will have chocolate chip cookies, photo ops with Santa and a donation tree to support the theatre.
National Orphan Train Complex, 300 Washington St. — Will be free and open to the public. There will be new displays to see, treats to eat and a sharing of the Charles Dickens book "A Christmas Carol." Be sure to check out the Legend of the Christmas Bells on the Orphan Train statue stroll as well.
The Cloud County Historical Museum, 635 Broadway St. — Will be sharing the tradition of the cardinal with those who visit. Kids can participate in another scavenger hunt at the museum, play games, create a melted snowman cookie and have their photos taken throughout the museum at several photo ops.
Nazareth Motherhouse, 1300 Washington St. — The Motherhouse will be open for walk through tours of the beautiful Christmas decorations. The Sisters will celebrate "Christmas Around the World" in the auditorium, with trees and traditions from Brazil, Vietnam, Ukraine, France, and the United States. The Nazareth Gift Shop will be open and stocked with Christmas decor and gift ideas for all. They will also be sharing the history about the tradition of the spider.
Broadway Plaza, Sixth and Broadway — Will be offering a fun treat of chocolate dipped peppermint marshmallows and sharing about the tradition of the Christmas pickle.
Frank Carlson Library, 702 Broadway St, — Will share about other holidays surrounding Christmas.
POW Camp Concordia will be represented at the Cloud County Tourism Office, 130 East Sixth St. — Stop in at the Cloud County Tourism office to learn more about POW Camp Concordia. The Camp is now closed for the season, but you can stop in to learn more about this incredible historic site. They will be sharing about snow globes.
Cloud County Tourism — The Tourism office will be your one stop for POW Camp Concordia, The Whole Wall Mural, and Cloud County Tourism. Be sure to stop in, learn a bit about POW Camp Concordia and the Whole Wall Mural, eat some yummy treats, enjoy our photo ops, learn about the tradition of the ladybug, and grab some unique local gifts.
Cloud County Tourism director Susie Haver says, "We are thrilled to have all our attractions coming together to host this event again for our community. Often times, we hear of people who have lived in Concordia for years and have not visited them. This is the perfect chance to stop in, support local, shop local, and get in the holiday spirit of giving back. We all invite you to be a tourist in your own hometown. Check out all of our incredible attractions during our "Deck the Halls" event."