2014 Village Lights (German Village)

We decided to drop by the 2014 Village Lights celebration in the German Village neighborhood, located just south of Downtown Columbus. This annual event draws thousands of people to this picturesque and historic area during the holiday season and is supported by numerous German Village organizations, businesses and residents.

Being something of an on the whim type visit, we didn't quite plan out everything quite as well as we would normally, but we were more than happy just to wander and discover what was out there on this beautiful, crisp but not too cold night. These pictures capture a small cross-section of an event that has become a favorite of many in its ten years of existence and was definitely a wonderful evening out for both of us.

We got there fairly early, but there were already dozens waiting
for the free horse-drawn carriage rides

The Striezelmarkt, the outdoor Christmas market located outside the
German Village Meeting Haus, had booths from several
neighborhood businesses and organizations. 

BalletMet's Nuthead, who had made an earlier appearance at The North Market,
showed up to entertain Village Lights goers. Their annual performances of
of Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker will take place Dec. 12 thru Dec. 27.

The Central Ohio Watercolor Society had both artwork and demonstrations
for event goers setup at the Meeting Haus

We found this Nativity display next to a house as we slowly wended our way
southward on Third Street toward Schiller Park.

The luminaries seemed to be everywhere on the brick-lined
sidewalks and streets of German Village

We found the streets bustling with activity near Schmidt's Fudge Haus.

This Fudge Haus employee donning a Santa hat was preparing free
samples of fudge for passers-by, an offer we could not refuse. With our
sweet-tooths fully activated, we dropped in to buy more of their goodies.

Likewise, the Schmidt's Sausage Truck was doing brisk business
next to the Striezelmarkt.

The folks at Kolache Republic (who had an awesome artichoke and spinach
kolache at the event, BTW) had mentioned to us a fun little house with
a nativity scene and all sorts of other unique Christmas-oriented displays.
I realized after getting back home and reading the event flyer that this was
the house to which they were referring. We skipped by this place
as we were feeling the need for a bite to eat.

Currywurst! Members of The Columbus Maennerchor, the oldest and largest
continuously operating German singing society in the country, was selling
this uniquely German fast-food dish to help raise funds for their organization.

Both recorded and live music could be heard throughout the German Village
neighborhood. Here near Pistacia Vera, the Capital Pride Holiday Brass Band
entertained event goers with holiday standards.

For Village Lights and other German Village area events, please contact:

German Village Society
C/O German Village Meeting Haus
588 South 3rd Street
Columbus, OH 43215
(614) 221-8888
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