By Amanda Raymond

amanda.raymond@salisburypost.com

This weekend, the Gold Hill Merchant Association is hosting their Christmas in the Village event.

There will be light refreshments, live music, Christmas storytelling, marshmallow roasting and a visit from Santa Claus.

The association has been putting on the event for four years. Their goal is to get more people to come out and enjoy Historic Gold Hill.

“Our goal is to get people to the village so that they know we’re here. We have shops with unique items,” Sandy Hickman, secretary for the association, said.

The association usually puts together about six different events in Historic Gold Hill and also works with other Gold Hill groups to organize events.

Visitors will receive light refreshments at the shops throughout the weekend. Fred Kessler, Gold Hill’s resident storyteller, will be telling an old-fashioned Christmas story today and Sunday at the Little Log Cabin at 1 p.m.

There will also be live bluegrass and Christmas music playing throughout the village today.

Visitors can roast marshmallows at the Arbor from 1 to 3 p.m. on Sunday.

Santa will be available for pictures today and Sunday from 12 to 3 p.m. at the Down South Café. Children will also be able to decorate cupcakes and snack with Santa for $1.

The shops will open today at 11 a.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. and will close at 5 p.m. on both days.

The money raised at the event will go towards the maintenance for the village, including trash pickup and cleaning the public restrooms, and the promotion of Gold Hill.

Hickman said an event like this in Gold Hill can give people a little bit of calm for a few hours this holiday season.

“We get so caught up in all the gifts we have to buy and all of the things we have to do. I think Gold Hill lends itself to people relaxing, taking deep breath and maybe even thinking about what’s important,” she said.

For more information, visit www.goldhillnc.com. You can contact the Merchant’s Association at goldhillmerchantsassociation@gmail.com.

Contact reporter Amanda Raymond at 704-797-4222.