The PCC Foundation will welcome holiday shoppers to the Greenville Convention Center this weekend for the 2019 Down East Holiday Show fundraiser. This year’s show opens with a special, adult-only shopping event on Oct. 31 and runs through Nov. 3. Proceeds fund PCC scholarships and a variety of educational activities each year.
WINTERVILLE—A holiday tradition returns to eastern North Carolina this month with the 2019 edition of the Pitt Community College Foundation’s Down East Holiday Show.
This year’s show—the 18th to raise money for student scholarships and educational activities at PCC—opens at the Greenville Convention Center with a special, adult-only shopping event Oct. 31 and runs through Nov. 3.
“The Down East Holiday Show is the PCC Foundation’s largest fundraising event each year, so it’s very important to us that it’s successful,” said Marianne Cox, PCC Vice President of Institutional Advancement. “Last year’s show drew 11,000 shoppers and generated $133,000 to support our students. We’re hoping members of the community will come out again this year and help us make what we consider to be an eastern North Carolina holiday tradition a rousing success.”
PCC Event Specialist Erin Greenleaf says shoppers can expect to find 190 vendors participating in the show—the most since the event first took place in 2002. They’ll have a wide variety of items for sale, she said, including holiday decorations, accessories and home décor, wine and food items, clothing, and various services.
Greenleaf says the show will feature free and paid priority parking. There will also be several food trucks stationed just outside of the convention center each day, she said, adding that Santa Claus will be on hand for several hours on Friday, Saturday and Sunday for parents to bring their cameras and take photographs of their children interacting with Old Saint Nick.
“We’re continually striving to put on the best show possible, and we go to great lengths to ensure it features a diverse selection of items for sale,” Greenleaf said. “Of the 190 vendors scheduled to participate this year, 37 are brand new to the event, such as The Villager of the Neuse Sport Shop, Lanoca Coffee Company, a couple of new clothing boutiques, some handcrafted jewelry and a woodworking business. We even have Hooper’s Market coming with pasta sauces, so I’m confident there’ll be something for everyone at this year’s show.”
Greenleaf says all of the planning and hard work that goes into the Holiday Show will pay off when the event gets underway with the adult-only shopping night on Halloween. It will take place from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. and is for adults only, meaning no children or strollers and less crowding. Tickets are $12 for this special event, which will feature a performance of Christmas music by members of the PCC Chorale, television personality Lisa Prince greeting fans of her UNC-TV series, “Flavor, NC,” and a free drawing for a Coach Academy Tote valued at $450.
Doors open Friday at 10 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. Saturday’s show hours are from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday’s hours are from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission each day is $10 per person and free for children 10 and under.
Sunday has been designated “Military Appreciation Day,” which means military personnel—active and retired—and their families can purchase tickets at the door for 1/2-price with a military ID.
To purchase tickets online and for more show details, including Santa’s hours and a list of vendors, visit https://pittccfoundation.com/pcc-events/downeast-holiday-show/.
10/21/2019