Editing Steubenville, Ohio (section)

===Steubenville Nutcracker Village===
In 2015, two local businessmen started a Christmas-themed festival, the Steubenville Nutcracker Village and Advent Market. The event is centered around a large collection life-size nutcracker sculptures spread throughout Fort Steuben Park in downtown Steubenville.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.steubenvillenutcrackervillage.com/|title=The Steubenville NutcrackerVillage & Advent Market|website=The Steubenville NutcrackerVillage & Advent Market|access-date=November 30, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.oldfortsteuben.com/nutcrackervillage.php|title=Historic Fort Steuben - Nutcracker Village and Advent Market|website=www.oldfortsteuben.com|language=en|access-date=November 30, 2017}}</ref> The Nutcracker Village is free and open to the public 24 hours a day and generally runs from the Tuesday before [[Thanksgiving (United States)|Thanksgiving]] to [[Epiphany (holiday)|Epiphany Sunday]] in early January.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.steubenvillenutcrackervillage.com/schedule.html|title=Schedule|website=The Steubenville NutcrackerVillage & Advent Market|access-date=November 30, 2017}}</ref>

The event began in 2015 with 37 locally produced, hand-painted nutcrackers.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Free |first=Cathy |date=2023-12-22 |title=A town fell on hard times. Hundreds of giant nutcrackers revived it. |language=en-US |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2023/12/19/christmas-nutcrackers-steubenville-ohio-holiday/ |access-date=2023-12-25 |issn=0190-8286}}</ref>  They are made of [[fiberglass]] and foam at a local business.<ref name=":0" />  Design and production takes about 40 hours each.<ref name=":0" /> In the second year, there were a total of 75 nutcrackers; by 2023, there were 209 around town.<ref name=":0" />  Each of the nutcrackers, which range in height from {{convert|5|to|9|ft|m}} tall is unique, and the designs include fictional characters from books, movies, comic strips, and songs, holiday characters like [[Mrs. Claus]], and professions, such as a [[Welder|steel welder]].<ref name=":0" />

Live entertainment and a German-style [[Christmas market|Advent Market]] featuring local artisans and craftsmen, as well as hot food and drink vendors, runs each weekend through the month of December in Fort Steuben Park to coincide with the Nutcracker Village event. The popularity of the Nutcracker Village since its inception has inspired other nutcracker-themed ventures in the City of Steubenville, including Drosselmeyer's Nutcracker Shoppe, a year-round Christmas shop in downtown Steubenville,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.steubenvillenutcrackervillage.com/shop.html|title=Shop|website=The Steubenville NutcrackerVillage & Advent Market|access-date=November 30, 2017}}</ref> and ''Wooden Hearts Follies'', a locally-written and performed musical centered around characters from the event.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/3127097|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613043534/https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/3127097|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 13, 2021|title=Wooden Hearts Follies - Tickets|website=www.brownpapertickets.com|access-date=November 30, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.weirtondailytimes.com/news/local-news/2017/10/cast-selected-for-wooden-heart-follies/|title=Cast selected for 'Wooden Heart Follies' {{!}} News, Sports, Jobs - Weirton Daily Times|website=www.weirtondailytimes.com|language=en|access-date=November 30, 2017}}</ref> The Nutcracker Village attracted over 40,000 visitors in 2017 and is credited with bringing new life to Steubenville's downtown area.<ref name="PPG12618" /><ref name=":0" />