Carlinville, Illinois Named Finalist In Hallmark’s Merriest Christmas Town Contest

We're coming up on the season of all the cheesy Christmas stuff.

We know it as reliably as turkey at Thanksgiving: the Hallmark Christmas movies that involve a "big city" girlfriend or boyfriend that ends up being left by their partner who goes back to his/her hometown and finds the "true meaning of Christmas" with someone wearing flannel.

It's not a good season for us brunettes working in the city. The hometown blonde wins out everytime.

But we keep watching these movies. That's why Hallmark's Merriest Christmas Town Contest is back and one of the 25 finalists from across the country is in Illinois.

The finalist is Carlinville, Illinois, which is about an hour north of St. Louis in Macoupin County and has a population of about 5,500 residents. Carlinville's voting page says that the city is anchored by their 1870 courthouse and the surrounding brick buildings that have been around for years.

Every November, they have a Christmas lighting ceremony at the Square and they have a Christmas Market in December, complete with horse-drawn carriages, historic storefronts, carolers, hot cocoa and s'mores.

Check out Carlinville's Hallmark video:

 
Carlinville's voting page says that they are still a town where neighbors know each other and "traditions are shared from one generation to the next, and the spirit of Christmas is found in the people who call Carlinville home".

The Square is indeed giving Hallmark movie set vibes.

Voting in Hallmark's Merriest Christmas Town contest is open through Sept. 4th and you can vote once a day on Carlinville's voting page. The winner is expected to be announced around Halloween.

The winning town will get the chance to be the filming location for a Hallmark movie.