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Christmas in the City founder has watched her event grow

Dorothy Smith started Christmas in the City in 1979.

December is a festive time in downtown Knoxville. Christmas in the City features events and lights and fun for the whole family.

Dorothy Smith started it 40 years ago.

The Christmas in the City we enjoy today has evolved over the past four decades. It started in 1977 with Smith when she was the public relations director at United American Bank, which is now First Tennessee Bank.

"We had a huge lobby so we wanted to have some activities during the holidays in the lobby. We partnered with the Bijou Theatre and they would bring some of their musical plays over to the lobby," Smith said.

The two-week event featured high school choirs, Archie Campbell's art exhibit and refreshments provided by downtown restaurants.

"We worked with the downtown merchants and did the door decorating contest. We created a month-long holiday art contest with the schools. So each year we added something new and it just grew and grew," she said.

She didn't do it alone.

"There were a lot of people who were involved with that and we had a good group of four core committee members. There were four ladies on the committee that really helped plan everything," Smith said.

Every year, more sponsors and businesses joined the event with the Greater Knoxville Chamber of Commerce and the city of Knoxville signing on in 1979. That was the year of the first tree lighting ceremony.

"We had all of the sponsors and the city officials on the stage. Well, someone forgot to lock the legs in on one end of the stage and so that end of the stage collapsed and all of the dignitaries went sliding off the stage. So it made it very memorable," Smith said.

After seven years, she turned Christmas in the City over to the city of Knoxville in 1984. Since then, Smith has enjoyed watching the event grow.

"They've not only continued the traditions of the early Christmas in the City, they've expanded and created new traditions," she said.

In 1988, Smith started her own marketing firm, Smith Marketing, which she still runs here in Knoxville.

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