By RHEA-FRANCES TETLEY
Staff Writer
Shop Small Saturday is this Saturday, Nov. 29. All the mountain chambers of commerce are supporting this official beginning of the holiday shopping season by encouraging you to shop locally first. This day encourages shoppers to think about buying their items in a “mom and pop” shop or a local store. By buying local whenever possible, you are helping to “keep our mountain green” and keeping our businesses in business.
Nov. 29 is also the day when Crestline starts celebrating the official beginning of the new ornaments along Lake Drive in their Holidays in the Pines displays; the festivities will last through New Year’s. The ornaments along Lake Drive are beautiful; some are 6-½ feet tall, while most are 5 feet tall and located all along the street. There are garlands and selfie stations, too. Activities will be occurring each Saturday as well.
On Saturday morning will be a Breakfast with Santa inside Mountain Cravings’ new dining room from 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in Top Town Crestline as part of the opening day events. It’s only $7.50 a person and a memory your child will cherish. Please RSVP at Mountain Cravings on Crest Forest Drive in advance.
Nov. 29 also will be the exciting beginning of Holiday in the Pines in Crestline. Starting that afternoon at Foxhound, on Lake Drive next to the Crestline Café, Santa will be visiting with children from 2 to 4 p.m. that Saturday and each following Saturday. Parents, bring your cameras.
Outside in the covered alcove will be a table for writing letters to Santa and a giant mailbox. Next to that will be a miniature sleigh and a carousel pony for photos. Inside Foxhound will be Santa and Mrs. Claus for your gift requests and photo taking. Santa will be there Nov. 29, Dec. 6, Dec. 13 and Dec. 20, from 2 to 4 p.m.
There will also be holiday carolers each of those Saturdays and other days, too. Carolers are from various churches, Scout groups, the vocal academy and the schools and family groups. The carolers will be in Top Town, at Higher Grounds and next door to Rim Bowling alley. Some will be walking from those locations throughout town. There will also be refreshment spots along their caroling routes.
Last weekend, many volunteers helped install the new decorations for the community of Crestline for the Holiday in the Pines. Despite the cool weather and overcast skies, it was a cheerful gathering as it wasn’t raining as it had been all week and the joy of installing the garlands and tall ornaments was lots of fun. Residents who just heard of the decoration installations stopped by and volunteered, too.
Over in the Crestline Chamber of Commerce office, a steady stream of merchants stopped by to pick up the Christmas trees for decorating and entering the decorating contest. There are seven categories the trees will be judged in: 1. Most Beautiful/Traditional; 2. Best execution of Holidays in the Pines theme; 3. Most Elegant; 4. Best Use of Upcycle/Recycled Materials; 5. Best Business Showcase of the theme of your business; 6. Best Use of Humor in Decorating; and 7. Tackiest Tree design.
The participating businesses will be listed on theVisitCrestline.org website to encourage shoppers to go to the stores, see the trees and vote for their favorite, as these awards will be partially judged by the customers through QR codes at VisitCrestline.org. For more information, contact the Crestline Chamber of commerce at (909) 338-2706.
Also in Crestline, on Monday, Dec. 1 will be the lighting of the Crestline community Christmas tree, during the Goodwin’s Family Christmas bonfire and tree lighting ceremony, to be held in Lake Gregory’s North Shore parking lot, beginning at 5 p.m., across the street from Goodwin’s Market. That evening a large bonfire will be made by firefighters from the County Fire Department in the middle of the parking lot. Santa will come to town and hear the children’s requests; those 10 and under will receive a small present from Santa. As the evening progresses, everyone will go over to the patio area, where clergy from the local churches will share the original Christmas story and a countdown will follow to the lighting of the Christmas tree, which sits on the South Shore of the lake.
This year, Nathan Godwin from the Lake Gregory Company promises a new addition to the holiday tree, so be sure to be there and watch it light up or stop by the parking lot between then and Christmas to see it all lit up.
Lake Arrowhead Village will be lighting their community tree on Friday night, Nov. 28, the day after Thanksgiving, from 6 to 8 p.m. The Mountain Fifes & Drums will play some holiday music to set the mood. While there, meet the dancing cast of The Nutcracker, which will be performed on Dec. 5 through 7 at the San Manuel Performing Arts Center by the Lake Arrowhead Classical Ballet Company at 2772 North Sterling Ave in San Bernardino. For tickets go to www.arrowheadballet.org or call (909) 336-1359. Santa will then use his special magic after the evening of music and to light up the tall Christmas tree in the Village. For more details, contact the Lake Arrowhead Communities Chamber of Commerce at (909) 336-1547.
On Saturday, Nov. 29, Skyforest will hold their second annual Winterfest. The merchants of Skyforest will be celebrating Small Business Saturday with an old-world holiday marketplace at the corner of Kuffel Canyon and Highway 18. Spend your day with local crafters, vendors and friends enjoying the music and fun being created during Skyforest’s Winterfest.
On Dec. 5 at 5 p.m. the Running Springs Area Chamber of Commerce will be lighting their community Christmas tree in the center of town at the park at the conjunction of Hilltop Boulevard and Highway 330. There will be music and singing. On Dec. 19, also in Running Springs, there will be a community caroling experience. For more details, contact the chamber office at (909) 867-2411.
Supporting the businesses in your own community on Small Business Saturday and all through the holiday season helps them remain open all year long to serve you.
0 Comments