This program was made possible by contributions to your PBS station from viewers like you.

Thank you.

This program is brought to you by.

Win Home Inspections.

To sponsor local programing like this.

Visit wcte.org/donate to become a member or contact Tiffany McDonald at tmcdonald@wcte.org for sponsorship opportunities.

In the heart of the Highland Plateau.

Local communities begin their holiday celebrations with enchanting nutcracker displays and storefronts.

Elegantly decorated trees and the joyful sounds of festive music filling the air, the inviting sense of nutmeg and cinnamon might transport you back to cherished memories or beloved traditions from years gone by.

This year, WCTE PBS is thrilled to introduce Highland Holiday, a new show that dives deep into the festive spirit by celebrating the holidays through the lens of individual communities.

We had the pleasure of visiting the French market in Monterrey, where a delightful group was busy crafting gingerbread houses.

We also dropped by Jerry's workshop to check on her progress with the adorable felt mice for the Plenty bookstore, Christmas window displays.

Our adventure continued with a backstage tour at the Cumberland County Playhouse, where preparations for White Christmas were in full swing.

We even got to meet the charming Highland cows at Mill Creek Farm, among many other exciting experiences.

So grab your hot cocoa and join us as we discover the magic of the Upper Cumberland this holiday season.

♪♪ Happy holidays.

I'm Emma Burchett and I'm thrilled to be your host for our enchanting new holiday special, Highland Holiday, presented by WCTE PBS.

We understand just how meaningful the holiday season is to everyone, and we're eager to highlight the wonderful festivities happening in our community during this magical time.

Regardless of your holiday preferences, it's undeniable that White Christmas and the 1954 musical film directed by Michael Curtis and featuring Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney, is a timeless classic that brings a wave of nostalgia.

This year, the Cumberland County Playhouse adapted this beloved film for the stage, and WCTE had the opportunity to visit the theater as they prepared themselves for their upcoming performance.

We also had the pleasure of hearing from Bryce McDonald, the producing director and CEO of the Playhouse, who shared insights on how the venue spreads.

Joy and upholds cherished traditions for its audience during this festive season.

Hi, I'm Bryce McDonald, the producing director and CEO of the Cumberland County Playhouse.

You know, one of the Playhouse's traditions for all of its 59 years, but especially the last ten years, is providing Christmas entertainment for all families in the upper Cumberland region.

For ten years we've been redoing Christmas shows.

Anything we can find from Scrooge to a Christmas Story to Elf, to what is happening this year, which is White Christmas.

And we just love having the opportunity to see families and communities come in and be a part of the holiday spirit, and it's becoming a holiday tradition to them.

We see families that make multiple trips back to see shows.

We see church groups and other groups that are coming in and bringing 60, 70 people, all dressed in Christmas sweaters, just here to have a great time.

They sing the songs along with us, they're cheering on the show, and we're just so thankful to be able to provide that little heartbeat and remembrance of what the season is really about to all of our community that surrounds us, and it's an honor to be able to be a part of this tradition.

Hi.

Okay.

All of us is open for a half hour.

Half hour.

So places of the Amazon in America.

Notes.

Please do so now.

Thank you.

Okay.

Hi.

My name is Heather McCall, and I play Betty Hanes in White Christmas.

We have so many shows throughout the year, I absolutely adore this one because I love Christmas so much.

This is my fourth time doing this role in this show and it is my absolute favorite.

I just love it.

♪So.

Happy holidays♪ ♪and happy holidays.♪ ♪While the merry bells keep ringing, ♪ may your every wish come true♪ ♪happy holidays!♪ ♪Happy Holidays♪ ♪May the calendar keep bringing♪ ♪Happy holidays.♪ ♪Happy holidays to you.♪ My name is Riley Wesson.

I play Phil Davis, and, I'm really happy to be doing White Christmas again.

It's such a fun show, and, so many people come to come out to see it.

And, just love the the holiday vibes.

And it's just all about about cheer and family and just, just showing the people that you love how much you love them.

And, it's just a really fun time.

♪Let yourself go.♪ ♪Let yourself go, relax.♪ ♪Let yourself go, relax.♪ ♪You've got yourself tied up♪ ♪in a knot, the night is cold but ♪ the music's hot♪ ♪So come on, come on, come on.♪ In the Playhouse, We are fortunate enough that we have two spaces.

This is our black box base, which is a little bit smaller than our main stage where white Christmas is running.

And for the past couple of years, we've also created a new holiday tradition of having a theater piece that is theater for young audiences.

So this is our set and our tech week for Twas the Night Before Christmas, based on the Clement Moore poem.

And this is geared towards three to 5 to 10 to the child in all of us.

But it's a super sweet show.

That's short for it keeps the attention span of the kids together, and we're able to partner with the school system.

So they have already sold out all of our school day matinees to bring them in, but it has about 22 performances throughout the holiday season.

And so you get to see kids and their parents come in and they get to meet Santa Claus at the end of the show, which is something special for us.

So just again, creating those holiday traditions for our community and all of the Upper Cumberland community ♪while the merry bells keep ringing,♪ ♪May the calendar keep bringing Happy Holidays to you♪ ♪To you♪ [applause] For those clips from White Christmas have truly put me in the festive mood.

I hope you found the scenes enjoyable as well.

During a visit to Crossville, our team made a brief stop at the Art Circle Library, where we stumbled upon some industrious elves.

We discovered a lovely group of women busy creating their own Christmas cards.

Their friends and family are in for a special surprise with these unique handcrafted treasures.

Hi, I'm Deb Mouch I'm a stampi It up demonstrator.

I live in Fairfiled Glade So Blake, I've been doing this class for 11 years.

Every month we come here, we make cards.

I teach you how.

Every month we do different cards.

We do three at a time.

This month is Christmas.

So he was walking around showing you all the cards.

We're doing.

Did you know that the tradition of sending Christmas cards began in the early Victorian era in England during the 1900s, born out of a need to keep in touch despite busy lives?

It's interesting to see that not much has changed since then.

A few days later, we adventured over to Historic Granville, which is nestled in Jackson County overlooking the Cumberland River and is often said to be one of the Upper Cumberland best kept secrets.

When we visited, we found the charm of a classic Mayberry town tucked away from the hustle and bustle, but offering a wealth of festive activities during the holiday season, including the delightful Mayberry Christmas Dinner Theater and Granville Country Christmas, among many others.

Whether you choose to participate in an event or simply take a leisurely stroll down Main Street, you'll find yourself immersed in a nostalgic experience that feels like a step back in time.

♪♪ Granville shines brightly during this season, but I'm sure it's an enjoyable place to visit all year round.

The holidays also present a wonderful opportunity to give back on our next trip.

We met a family in Livingston who embodied the spirit.

Greg and Jongee Arnold have graciously opened their home for the Holiday Tour of Homes, an event organized by the Exchange Club of Livingston to support the Stephens Center.

The Arnolds truly understand the essence of Christmas.

♪♪ We're the Arnolds, and every year we decorate for Christmas and, Santa and the elves and all of that is a lot of fun.

But for us, Christmas is about the birth of Jesus Christ, and we want to celebrate that.

And this year, we've decorated a little extra because we're on the Exchange Club Christmas tour of homes here in Livingston.

And we hope that everyone has a merry Christmas and enjoys our home.

We were truly grateful to the Arnolds for welcoming us into their beautiful home.

It was a stunning sight both inside and out.

Before we made our way back to the station, we stopped by Livingston Square to check out the lively holiday atmosphere there.

We saw crowds of people engaging in holiday shopping, catching up with friends, and some were even visiting the jolly old fellow himself.

Santa.

The holiday spirit was infectious, and even the Grinch appeared to be having a good time.

♪♪ ♪♪ We absolutely loved exploring the delightful little shops in Livingston, each one beautifully decorated for Christmas and overflowing with gift ideas that even Santa could be tempted to pick something up for.

Mrs. Claus.

If you love shopping this season, consider stopping by the French market in Monterey.

This delightful store is brimming with holiday spirit.

While we were filming, we learned that the French market was offering a gingerbread workshop, and we couldn't resist the opportunity to join in.

The workshop was hosted by Thomas Golz, who has been recognized by Cookware Lifestyle magazine as a mover and shaker and is known for his incredible dioramas.

♪♪ Good morning.

We're having a gingerbread making class with our teacher, Thomas Golz today.

And his mom, Jennifer Gray.

I love the community that it brings in, So we have local people that come into the classes, as well as people from Cookeville & Crossville, friends and family.

We wanted to give back to the community and contribute with some gingerbread houses.

You may know Thomas, my son Thomas from Small World Dioramas, and he was on the front of the lifestyle magazine this summer.

And so, he wanted to meet friends and make new friends.

And we thought doing dioramas would be a great way, with people to do these gingerbread houses.

♪♪ I'm going to put my gingerbread house on my kitchen island so everybody can enjoy it when they come over to our house.

We started today.

This is my daughter, and we came together to make gingerbread houses.

And it was so much fun.

We were going to take it home and do it with the rest of our family.

♪♪ We are grateful to Thomas for inviting us to join in the fun.

It's safe to say that window shopping is a delightful experience.

During the holiday season, and it might just be a favorite pastime for you and your family.

With so many stunning displays to admire, we couldn't possibly visit them all, but we did manage to connect with the team at Plenty Bookshop to check on the window art progress.

We discovered the dedicated staff diligently working on their four Nutcracker themed window displays, even collaborating with a local artist to enhance their creativity.

♪♪ Gerry Burklow a talented local artist, brings her unique felting skills to life, crafting charming little critters just for these windows.

When we learned of Jerry, we knew we had to pay her a visit and we found her diligently crafting away in her workshop.

Many of her delightful nutcrackers are featured in Plenty's festive window displays.

I am working on a few nutcrackers for them.

This they have a Nutcracker ballet theme going so I'll be contributing a few nutcrackers and, a mouse.

And I'm not sure exactly what his his role is going to be but he'll be there.

♪♪ Next, we headed to the picturesque streets of downtown Smithville to immerse ourselves in the delightful hallmark charm of this wonderful community, as we had heard about their unique take on holiday window decorations.

The City of Smithville organized an event that brings the holiday window display to life.

Each window in downtown Smithville features a unique theme showcasing real people instead of the typical dolls.

Thank you, Smithville, for sharing your unique holiday event with us.

Have you always dreamed of experiencing the enchanting spirit of Christmas in a whole new way?

Imagine taking a ride on your very own Polar Express.

Families who attended the Putnam County Christmas on the square event were treated to this magical experience, among many others.

In addition to the trains and Santa, guests enjoyed a variety of activities, with some lucky ones even getting to meet WCTE PBS's cherished Clifford the Big Red dog that we're here at the Putnam County Square Holiday Festival.

WCTE is excited to be here.

We've got Clifford.

We've been doing some great s'mores and making some Play-Doh puppets, and we're just excited to wish everybody a very happy holiday this season.

♪♪ Just a short distance away, McMinnville was also bustling with festive activities, all celebrating the holiday season.

Visitors enjoyed events like Flip the Switch, a charming town lighting ceremony, family ice skating and the delightful Christmas in the village event.

WCTE PBS visited the Christmas in the village event to experience the joy up close.

While Santa was undoubtedly a hit among the crowd and this community gathering, attendees also had the chance to meet the Grinch, who brings his unique flair to the holiday cheer.

A key highlight of the celebrations was the support for local businesses.

As we approach the end to our holiday show, we wanted to share our delightful visit to Mill Creek Farms.

There we encountered the most adorable little fur balls and a charming baby cow, beautifully decorated with a festive holiday wreath.

The owners of Mill Creek Farm shared their holiday fun on a farm that embraced a unique way to celebrate the season, and we hope you and your family will find it just as delightful.

We appreciate you joining us for this festive holiday special.

It's a blend of new adventures and cherished traditions from our community that shape our identity and highlights the importance of coming together to celebrate the holiday spirit.

Your support means the world to us, and we hope this episode of the Highland Holiday filled your heart with joy.

From our family to yours, we wish you a merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

This program is brought to you by Win Home inspections.

To sponsor local programing like this, visit wcte.org/donate to become a member or contact Tiffany McDonald at tmcdonald@wcte.org for sponsorship opportunities.

This program was made possible by contributions to your PBS station from viewers like you.

Thank you.