Santa Is Coming to McLaurin Farms: Christmas Festival
- eputnam52
- Dec 5, 2021
- 4 min read
Updated: Dec 8, 2021
The annual McLaurin Farms Christmas Festival is back and in action, with special opportunities to meet icons of the season like Santa, The Grinch and Olaf.
By Emily Putnam
Q News
Nothing quite rings in the holiday spirit like Christmas lights and iconic characters like Santa, The Grinch, and Olaf. It is not every season you get to experience such jolly sights and delightful activities.
For McLaurin Farms, where crops and food couldn't be produced, family memories could. At McLaurin Farms' Christmas Festival, you can find cheerful opportunities to make memories and more.
Sleigh the Festivities
With more than 550,000 visitors each year at the festival, the activities are much more than just "merry" to look at. There are two different "Activity Cards" available for purchase. The difference between the two purchases is one includes a hayride around the farm, while the other only includes the activities and a walk-thru of the Christmas lights.
The activities at the farm are a dream for kids, such as meeting Santa, Olaf and the Grinch, making an ornament, writing a letter to Santa, free piece of candy in the candy store, a ride on the train, jumping on the jump pad, seeing the farm animals and a playground with a 40-foot slide.
Children can meet Santa at his "workshop", which is stationed in the center of the activities fair, whereas Olaf, from Disney's movie Frozen, can be found right where visitors enter the festival. The Grinch, however, can be found by the playground and jump pads, for a chance for a meet and greet and photo-op.
Eddie McLaurin explained that a lot of the crew that helps make the Christmas Festival happen also work the other seasonal events, creating a feel of one big family at work. "They're all already trained, and that's obviously better, but they all know each other and they're like a land of misfits actually," McLaurin reveals. "They've all been through the same stuff so they have formed a bond tighter than blood."
Perhaps the biggest attraction at the festival is the walk thru Christmas lights. The trail is about half a mile long, as you walk through beautifully lit and interactive Christmas lights that light up along to nostalgic and popular holiday tunes.
Although some of the activities are steered towards families and younger children, the festival is attractive to anyone who loves celebrating the spirits of Christmas.
Making Spirits Bright
Both Eddie McLaurin and his wife, Peggy McLaurin, express nothing but joy when thinking about the children that come to the festival. With activities that raise their spirits, the McLaurin's love nothing more than to be part of the reason for it.
"I love to hear the people say 'We came here the first time when my son was three, and now he's eight', That's so special," says Peggy McLaurin. "Seeing their faces light up from the snow machines is my personal favorite," she tells. "We have two of the snow machines, and a third one on the way." Eddie McLaurin claims these machines cost $2,500 a piece, proving they have no limit to see their visitors happy.
Two visitors, in particular, share how much the festival means to them. Jordan and Anthony Davison, brothers born and raised in Greensboro, North Carolina, claim to have been coming to the festival since it first opened nine years ago.
"I wait all year for this event," describes Anthony, "My brother and I came here nine years ago at opening because our parents forced us to bond and we have returned every year since, closer than ever now."
Naughty or Nice
It is no secret that many businesses across the globe suffered from the gnarly pandemic of COVID-19. Therefore for a small town festival, you are likely to assume it was an uphill challenge. However, Eddie McLaurin exclaims something quite contrary. "We had an eight page COVID plan that turned into a 22 page plan with the county," McLaurin explains. "But we were able to open up and it was the biggest year we ever had."
Although some employees were unable to work during the pandemic, and those that did were at higher risk, for the McLaurin Farms, it seemed to pay off. McLaurin states "We were open for eight less nights than normal, and forced more payroll, but now we are up 2,000 more visitors than usual since."
Son of a Nutcracker
The McLaurin Farms originally belonged to Simon Peter McCormick in 1928, Eddie McLaurin's great grandfather. With more than 100 acres of land, McCormick grew corn and raised horses, cows, pigs and chicken and profited off of their goods.
After McCormick died in 1952, he gifted the land in parcels to his children. Rufus McCormick, Eddie's grandfather, began raising cattle on his portion of the land for years. He built a house on the land with his wife and grew their family.
The cattle fell through in 1986 after over 30 years of raising, where Eddie's grandfather wished to sell because it was no longer profitable. However, Eddie McLaurin had different plans. He always dreamed of owning the farm to keep it in the family, but wondered now what he would do with it if it wasn't profitable.
In 1991, Eddie McLaurin opened "McLaurin Farms". With it, blossomed the lovely idea from Eddie of a farm where families could grow memories, while his family couldn't grow food. The farm hosts events celebrating all four seasons: The Christmas Festival, Movies on the Farm, Sunflower Festival, Pumpkin Patch, Trunk or Treat, and the Easter Egg Hunt.
Eddie claims he always wanted to work full time, so as one event is being broken down, another is being built to open. The first event that was hosted at the farm was The Christmas festival. This year marks its ninth year of existence, and has continued to grow every year since.
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