Here’s why the Christmas Village has those white tents instead of cool wooden huts
You may have heard there’s a German-style Charlotte Christmas Village in Romare Bearden Park this year. It’s the first year for the village and, well, the reviews have been mixed to say the least.
Some background: The village has about 20 vendors set up in the upper section of the park, with businesses selling everything from gift and food items to gutters. The weekends feature live music and kids activities. It’s free, and runs Tuesday-Sunday until Dec. 24.
Some people really seem to like it. But it’s not without its critics.
The biggest gripe I’ve seen on social media centers around the white tents that vendors are housed in. The original plan called for the vendors to be in “wooden huts, much like those found in a traditional Christmas Village in Germany,” according a Power Point presentation for the event that’s posted on its website. A white tent isn’t quite the same as a wooden hut.
Well, at least now we know why the change happened. An email from the Mecklenburg County Manager’s Office sent Monday shed a little light on why wooden huts weren’t used this year (tl;dr: Fire hazard). Here’s the full statement:
“Recently, we’ve received several questions concerning the look and feel of the German-style Christmas Village that is on display at Romare Bearden Park.
“I would like to offer a response as to why tents were set up instead of the traditional wooden huts.
“Romare Bearden Park is located inside Charlotte’s fire district, and in North Carolina, state law requires that only non-combustible or fire-resistant construction be allowed inside a fire district. Fire districts exist to protect business centers like uptown from burning too quickly.
“The village could not be assembled according to the organizer’s original plan because the materials were combustible.
“Mecklenburg County enforces this state requirement through our building permits process, but we did not determine the bounds of the fire district.
“In circumstances like these, we work with the event owner and Charlotte Fire Department to offer any alternatives we can that might be code compliant. Which alternative an organizer chooses is ultimately up to them, so long as it meets building safety codes. We view ourselves as partners in helping projects to succeed, but we would never put the safety of our community, or our responsibility for enforcing safety codes, second.
“We are committed to exploring alternate ways to approach the situation next year, and have already talked to other communities about how they approach events like this.”
What do you think of that answer? Fire away in the comments.
Photo: Vanessa Infanzon
This story was originally published December 5, 2016 at 9:21 PM with the headline "Here’s why the Christmas Village has those white tents instead of cool wooden huts."