MEDINA — A Christmas re-do took place in Medina for families impacted by Hurricane Helene in North Carolina last September. The natural disaster wiped out homes and businesses.
Three buses dropped off multiple Asheville families at Castle Noel in Medina. This year-round attraction features holiday decorations, animated displays and movie props from famous Christmas movies.
“The last two months have been difficult. I’ve had friends lose their homes and my dad lost his job. So, I feel so blessed to be around so many people who care so much about all of what happened to my town,” Addy Elff said.
Castle Noel owner Mark Claus says he wanted to give the families a chance to celebrate and experience a full-blown Medina Christmas.
“I wanted them to experience the candlelight walk, the Christmas parade with the band, I wanted to see the fireworks again, I want them to experience exactly the way we do it in Medina every year for the holidays,” Claus said.
Claus received help from community members and organizations, and together, they were able to raise $250,000 to pull off a Christmas part two.
“I've shed a bunch of tears just in watching the joy in people,” Claus said.
Joy is one of many words to describe the feeling of visitors as they toured Castle Noel, feeling the Christmas spirit. Many of the families say their Christmas looked a little different this year after losing homes or not having the funds to purchase gifts. But the museum was able to help some families' Christmas wishes come true.
"I’ve had a pair of broken headphones that I’ve been meaning to fix and get a new one, but we just haven't been able to do that, and I just got a brand-new pair of headphones today as a gift. So, this is just amazing to me,” Elff said.
During the weekend, the families will enjoy a list of holiday events since most public celebrations in Asheville, North Carolina, were canceled. The bonus is the winter snow covering the ground in Medina, giving the families a truly white Christmas.
“It was pretty and amazing. I stayed up until four in the morning watching the snow fall,” Sean McCarthy said.
Saturday night, the families will experience a holiday parade called “Brighter Days Ahead” and watch fireworks in a holiday-decorated downtown Medina.
“We do the same things for Christmas every year, and it's a mark of time. We know that' Christmas is going to be like the cherry on top the cake at the end of the year, and to have that stripped away is sad. I think it's valuable to just have that opportunity to get it back,” said Claus.
