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Hallmark contest puts Neenah in the running for Christmas movie shoot

By Rachel Charniak Aug 19, 2026 | 10:17 AM

PC: Fox 11 Online

NEENAH, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — A Fox Valley community could be the scene of a Hallmark Christmas movie.

Neenah was named one of the top 25 finalists in Hallmark Channel’s America’s Merriest Christmas Town Contest.

The winning community will have a Hallmark Christmas movie filmed in its town, giving Neenah the opportunity to share its small-town charm and Christmas spirit with viewers across the country.

“We already know how special Christmas in Neenah is, and making the Top 25 gives us the opportunity to show the rest of the country,” said Michelle Dunning of Future Neenah. “What makes Neenah merry isn’t just the lights, decorations or events. It’s the people. Our community comes together year after year to create traditions, welcome visitors and make Christmas feel like home.”

During the holiday season, downtown Neenah transforms with decorated historic storefronts and thousands of twinkling lights, while events such as A Very Neenah Christmas and the A Very Neenah Christmas Market draw thousands of visitors downtown. Other beloved traditions include the Santa Fire Truck Float, ice skating under the lights at The Plaza, horse-drawn carriage rides, live mannequin window displays, holiday giving campaigns and generations of family traditions.Neenah’s Christmas charm has even inspired fiction. Local author Amanda Lauer wrote A Very Chapel Falls Christmas, a holiday novel inspired by Downtown Neenah and its Christmas traditions. Other Midwest communities in the top 25 include Bemidji, Minnesota, Carlinville, Illinois, and Portsmouth, Ohio.

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