Southeast Tourism Society Selects Brooksville’s Christmas on Main Street: Annual Tree Lighting as an ‘STS Top 20 Event’
ATLANTA, Ga. (6/2/2020) – Southeast Tourism Society has named Brooksville’s Christmas on Main Street: Annual Tree Lighting one of the STS Top 20 Events in the Southeast for December 2020.
This year’s Tree Lighting is December 3, 2020. The STS Top 20 Festival and Event Awards have highlighted programs around the Southeast since 1985. Travel industry experts select 20 events per month, and STS publicizes them throughout the United States. The complete list is published on two websites: Southeast Tourism Society and Travel Media Press Room.
Christmas on Main Street is done in cooperation with Hernando County & City of Brooksville governments, Live Oak Theatre, Brooksville Main Street and an ever-growing list of partners. The brainchild of Rick Foti
of Hernando County Government Broadcasting, the event always drew large crowds. But when Barbara Manuel, Brooksville Main Street’s Promotions Chair, spearheaded efforts to purchase large scale decorations for the Courthouse and City Hall, Christmas in Brooksville took on a whole new meaning. The event became so popular that in 2018 it was almost too crowded to move. So for 2019, Main Street Executive Director Natalie Kahler petitioned the city to allow for a larger footprint for the event, stretching it several more blocks down Main Street. Attendees came from throughout the county, the state, and the region to hear the live Christmas music, shop and eat downtown, and, of course, to see Santa, who always spends the first Thursday of December in Brooksville.
For 35 years, STS has been spotlighting the best festivals and events in the Southeast with our Top 20 Festival and Events program. Our goal is to highlight the efforts of devoted event organizers and provide additional media exposure and accolades for their events,” said Monica Smith, president and CEO of the Southeast Tourism Society. “The Southeast offers so many unique, year-round, opportunities for tourists and festival-goers to create memories and support the tourism industry-–a vital economic generator for communities.”
Events considered for the STS Top 20 recognition must be at least three years old and have attendance of at least 1,000. The online nomination link and submission deadlines are available at SoutheastTourism.org or by calling 770-542-1523. STS, founded in 1983 and headquartered in Roswell, Ga., is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting travel and tourism within 14 states – Alabama, Arkansas, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia,Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.
Contact:
Natalie Kahler
Executive Director
Brooksville Main Street
believeinbrooksville@gmail.com
352.238.6295