Site promotes holiday events

Published 8:20 pm Saturday, November 7, 2009

If you’re looking forward to spending Christmas in Suffolk, then there’s a Web site you’ll want to check out.

For the third year, www.ChristmasInSuffolk.com launched at the beginning of November to pull all the city’s Christmas events together in one place. The site was the brainchild of marketing agency Addison Group’s director, Tom Powell, who also maintains the site.

“Three years ago, we started this Web site simply because there was not one place you can go and find out what’s going on,” Powell said. Every church and organization in Suffolk promoted its own event, but there was no single resource where people could obtain all the information.

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“Everybody’s got their event,” Powell said. “Nobody has marketing money.”

The site features events, worship services and notable local charities. People can find a festive event, a worship celebration and a place to volunteer their time or money all in one place, Powell said.

“It’s been an enormous response,” Powell said. “People look forward to it every year.”

The events currently on the site extend from Nov. 1 to Dec. 24, and include fall festivals, holiday film events, parades, tree lightings and more.

“The idea is for people to start planning, looking to see what’s going on,” Powell said. “It’s just a community thing we do.”

People who don’t see an event listed can click a link at the bottom of the page to submit the information. So far, the worship section is empty, but Powell said that will change as the season moves on.

“In about two weeks, it will be full,” Powell said. “It’s really simple. If you tell us, we’ll put it there.”

Powell also noted the site can be a business driver for the city, allowing people from other localities one place to plan their holiday visits to Suffolk.

“Everybody loves Christmas,” Powell said.

Visit the site at www.ChristmasInSuffolk.com.