UPDATE: The Granville Chamber of Commerce announced Wednesday that its members have voted in favor of adding ‘Christmas’ back in the title of the city’s annual walking tour.
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Original story
One word is causing quite an uproar in Granville: Christmas.
A decision to remove that word from the annual Candlelight Walking Tour has caused controversy. Now the Chamber of Commerce is having its members vote to decide.
The Chamber said the tour committee decided to remove the word from the title “for the purposes of standardizing the event’s name and to promote inclusivity.”
The woman who organized the event the last 14 years says every part of the tour is Christmas-related and that the creator of the Tour described it as “a gift of Christmas” to Granville.
Local businesses said the decision was made without input from them.
“They didn’t notify any Chamber members that this was going to happen, we got side-swiped,” said Elm’s Pizza manager Tammy Williams.
The Chamber of Commerce decided to let the members vote on the issue. They have until 9 p.m. Tuesday to vote.
The Chamber expects the vote to be tallied Wednesday and the decision posted on the Chamber website.