photo by: Warren Scott

Area residents and visitors still have time to see the many life-size nutcrackers lining Fourth Street in Steubenville and vote on their favorite Christmas tree from those also found there as the Nutcracker Village’s Christmas activities continue through this week.

Historic Fort Steuben’s Holiday Market closed for the season this weekend, but area residents can still enjoy many features of Steubenville’s Nutcracker Village through Jan. 9.

Visitors from around the country were in town to see the more than 200 life-sized nutcrackers spread throughout downtown. Mark Thornton of Maplewood, N.J., said he and his wife and two daughters were taking time during a visit with his sister in Steubenville to see the Nutcracker Village.

“We’ve seen a bunch of them and they’re really cool,” said Thornton, who noted the variety of personalities expressed through the figures, which have been inspired by active community members, assorted professions, local sports mascots and others.

The nutcrackers are produced by Nelson’s Fine Art and Gifts, a local business owned by Mark Nelson, who launched the event with Mayor Jerry Barilla and others in 2015.

Nelson’s son-in-law, Brodie Stutzman, carves each of them, while other members of the Nelson family also contribute to the attraction in various ways, from painting them to transporting them to their sites each year.

A map of the Nutcracker Village can be obtained at Drosselmeyer’s Nutcracker Shoppe at 155 North Fourth St. or online at steubenvillenutcrackervillage.com/the-nutcracker-map.html.

The Nutcracker Village’s Advent Market, with its own variety of vendors, can be found on North Fourth Street on Jan. 3.

In addition to the many nutcrackers at the fort and along North Fourth Street, visitors will find many small Christmas trees decorated by various groups and take time to vote on their favorite. Votes are $1 each and may be cast until noon on Wednesday, with winners to be announced on Thursday.

Groups behind trees that receive at least 10 votes will receive the money that has been spent to vote on them.

The contests’ sponsors, the Steubenville Cultural Trust and Tri-State Financial Services, will award $500 to their selected winner.

Votes also can be cast online at pollunit.com/en/polls/nvtreecompetition.

Robin and Gary Temple of Cincinnati were among visitors on Friday to the Artistry of the Nativity exhibit, a collection of more than 400 from at least 31 countries displayed at 147 North Fourth St.

Temple said they learned about the event through social media and already have made plans to return next year.

“This is so festive. I love it. It’s gorgeous,” she said.

The displays can be viewed indoors, for a donation of the attendee’s choice, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Wednesdays and Thursdays and from noon to 8 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through Jan. 9, with the exception of New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.

On hand to answer questions about the display was Anthony Vento, a friend of George Dvorsky, to whom the many nativities belong.

Vento explained Dvorsky, a Manor, Pa., native, acquired them through his extensive travels as an actor of the stage. Now living in New York City, Dvorsky also has lent his voice to many films, including Disney productions.

Vento said Dvorsky had attended school with a member of the Nelson family and was invited to display his many nativities as part of the Nutcracker Village.

The assorted depictions of Christ’s birth are of various sizes, materials and origins, from soapstone figures carved in Tanzania to mangers created with painted gourds in Peru.

Vento said the donations made by the exhibit’s visitors will support efforts to make it a year-round attraction and by St. Norbert Media to re-establish homeless shelters in the city.

The Nutcracker Village also will offer a Polar Express-themed hayride starting from there between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Free face painting, Christmas crafts and other activities for youth will be offered by the Hilltop Montessori School at the Children’s Corner at 338 Market St. from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.

Inclement weather and other conditions could affect some of the offerings, and updates can be found on the Steubenville Nutcracker Village Facebook page.