Community Christmas Event draws hundreds of visitors to RCC
Whether it was for shopping, registering for classes, or catching the lights of the tree turning on for the first time, the Community Christmas Event at Robeson Community College drew hundreds of visitors to the main campus in Lumberton. Festivities included one-stop registration, a holiday craft fair that had 28 vendors on site, a silent auction fundraiser, a gingerbread house contest, and concluded with a tree lighting ceremony.
The event was met with praise and gratitude.
“[The] craft fair on Thursday went really well and I would like to thank everyone who stopped by and supported me,” stated the owner of Anas Crafty Boutique in an Instagram post. “The students bought little frogs and whales as gifts for little ones they knew… parents were buying them as stocking stuffers. Overall it went really good… I’m glad I was able to go.”
The holiday craft fair featured vendors selling a little bit of everything including jewelry, holiday decor, t-shirts, and hot sauce.
“I enjoyed the opportunity to participate in RCC’s first ever Holiday Craft Fair,” stated Patricia Clark, a vendor selling Scentsy products. “It was a very positive experience to mingle with fellow work colleagues and also the general public with everyone getting into the Christmas spirit…the response was great. Looking forward to next year!”
For Susan Moore, the Holiday craft fair was a great opportunity to test selling various holiday products she had made.
“This was my first time at a Craft Fair selling Christmas Ornaments. It was a really fun event,” Susan said. “There was a lot of stiff competition in the Christmas décor arena, but also a variety of other vendors. I sold about half my inventory with the exception of one type. It was a good learning experience.”
As part of the craft fair, a silent auction was held with holiday wreaths created by faculty and staff. The auction raised $425 that will go to support student success through the RCC Foundation.
The Tree Lighting was the most magical experience of the day. The ceremony featured Santa who brought along some magical snow from the North Pole to help get people in the holiday spirit. Santa could be seen greeting guests with a candy cane and taking photos with children, faculty and staff. Even RCC President Melissa Singler got a photo with the jolly old elf.
All guests were given a one-of-a-kind, custom made ornament to commemorate the First Tree Lighting Ceremony at the college. The tree was decorated with red and gold ornaments and had sparkling lights that changed from white to various colors of the spectrum.
“Thank you for doing this,” Santa told RCC officials. “I wish you all a very Merry Christmas!”
