At St. Petersburg’s 3 daughters, a magical Christmas village on tap

NS. PETERSBURG – It started with two tiny houses, one of them with ghostly figures from the past and present Christmas season dancing in them.

Next came more houses and shops and trees and trains and little skiers and Christmas carols. Eventually an entire Christmas village, fully lit and animated, took over the garage of Bruce and Pat Harting’s waterfront house in St. Petersburg. The neighbors took a break from their nightly walks, spellbound by the wondrous sight.

Then the mini-metropolis moved to a brewery eight years ago that the Hartings’ son, Mike, and his wife Leigh had founded. As 3 Daughters Brewing became known, so did Mike’s parents’ Christmas exhibition.

“Up here you have the North Pole,” says Bruce Harting, pointing to an animated Christmas mailbox, “and the people who shop down here.” There are a total of six trains, 341 houses and other pieces (89 of which are animated) and more than 380 people.

The owner of a train shop comes every Friday to help with the six trains in the Christmas village [ BOYZELL HOSEY | Times ]

Each October, the Hartings begin erecting the display, which now covers several long sheets of plywood and runs along two sides of the brewery in the Warehouse Arts District. It takes until mid-November to end the popular attraction, especially with stressed-out parents who can enjoy a brew or two while their offspring ooh and ahh over the chugging trains, spinning carousels, and soaring hot air balloons

Much of the village is busy and everything is illuminated. [ BOYZELL HOSEY | Times ]

Bruce Harting’s favorite piece is still the Scrooge house with ghosts, which his mother gave him in 1986. It was made by Department 56, a Minnesota company known for its ceramic buildings and other holiday decorations. As Division 56 items became more expensive, Harting turned to Lemax products sold by Michaels and anything he can get from eBay and other sources. As a retired lieutenant colonel, he finances the exhibition with what he earns as a referee for local soccer teams.

Christmas fans are happy to help. Dave Zitnik, who runs a model train shop in Pinellas Park, comes every Friday to help with the trains. This year, for the first time, two trains will run on the same track. Another volunteer made a mini replica of the massive brewhouse. And a friend from St. Louis brought in a small team from Clydesdales that hauled a cart full of kegs of beer.

A volunteer made this mini replica of the 3 daughters’ brewhouse. “Budweiser” was originally written on the wagon. [ BOYZELL HOSEY | Times ]

“It had Budweiser on the side,” said Harting, “but that doesn’t work, so I painted it and put 3 daughters on it.”

The Christmas village has grown by a whole circus this year. Harting consulted with circus experts on the tiger cages, the “human cannonball” and other elements of the big top. His wife spent hours taping the tiny people who sit in the stands watching the circus parade, some posing as if they were chatting.

Another new feature is an interactive feature: a large red button that starts the trains. “You see the kids waiting for them to stop so they can let them go again,” said Harting.

The couple met at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where she worked and he was visiting a friend who was badly wounded in Vietnam and later died – their son is named after the friend. The Hartings also have a daughter, Becky, and five grandchildren – Mike’s three daughters and Becky’s son and daughter.

Before moving their Christmas Village to 3 Daughters Brewing, Pat and Bruce’s Christmas Village took up so much of their garage that she says she only had room for a washer and dryer. [ BOYZELL HOSEY | Times ]

The Christmas village stays open for the first week of January, then most of it is shrink-wrapped and stored on the large cooling unit behind the 3 daughters by forklift truck. The Hartings take some sections home with them all year round.

As for Mike Harting, he likes the village’s business but made it clear who is responsible for the upkeep.

“Dad, I’m not doing this,” he said to his father. “I have to run a brewery.”

3 Daughters Brewing, 222 22nd St. S, St. Petersburg, opens daily at 11.30am. Closing times vary. Check the website at 3dbrewing.com. 727-495-6002.

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