FWB Growth Management director transforms unused office into glowing miniature holiday town open for the public to see
Fort Walton Beach, Florida – This holiday season, people who live in Fort Walton Beach who pass through City Hall will find a surprise just past the Growth Management Department entrance. Tim Gibson, the director of growth management, and his family have turned an empty office into a luminous, realistic Christmas hamlet. It’s a whole miniature world that they’ve carefully crafted. The family has never shared their long-standing practice with the world before, which took more than thirty years to make.
Melissa Gibson’s father started buying porcelain “Village Square” buildings from the old Mervyn’s department store in the late 1980s. This is when the village began. Over time, the tiny collection expanded into a huge collection of homes, stores, icy streets, figurines, and other unique items. The line went away from stores when Mervyn’s folded in 2008, but by then the Gibson family already had dozens of the handmade items and was adding to them every Christmas season.
When Tim and Melissa got the collection, they added much more to it. Tim estimates that the current show includes more than 1,000 separate pieces, including up to 300 structures and a lot of homemade modifications that he produced himself. There is also a castle, a functional model train, and sceneries that have been carefully put together and take hours to make. This year, the family decided to take it to City Hall instead of setting it up at home so that everyone could enjoy it throughout the holidays.
Tim, Melissa, their daughter Mikayle, and Melissa’s mother, Charlotte Shelton, spent several evenings and weekends putting together the huge exhibition. Tim did all of the work on his own time, and the project didn’t involve any city resources. The finished scene fills the space with warm light and subtle touches that make people want to stay and look closer. There are fun surprises hidden among the rooftops and clouds, such a miniature “Where’s Waldo” figure, ladybugs hiding in nooks, and shapes that look like they belong in the clouds above the hamlet.
Read also: FDOT to host public hearing on “Around the Mound” plan aimed at easing U.S. 98 congestion
Tim wants the show to let visitors take a break and enjoy the occasion. He believes that every time they go, they find something new, which is part of the fun his family has had for decades. He wants that emotion to spread to the whole community now.
Read also: Nearly 80 juniors and seniors navigate adult responsibilities through hands-on simulation
You may see the Christmas village at the Growth Management offices in the City Hall building at 105 Miracle Strip Parkway SW. Visitors are welcome from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. People who stop by are also welcome to bring canned or non-perishable food to Sharing and Caring of Okaloosa County to benefit families in the area over the holidays.
