Mancos is doing all it can to get you in the Christmas spirit, with events kicking off today and running for the next few weeks in spirit of the town’s annual Olde Fashioned Christmas festivities.
A new addition to this year’s Olde Fashioned Christmas lineup is the Festival of Trees. The event’s organizer, Mac Neely, said her group purchased used trees, which were then sold to sponsors and set up in Boyle Park, just in time for Santa’s arrival.
“We’ll also be collecting toys for the Giving Tree,” said Neely.
The annual Giving Tree toy drive collects toys and gifts for local families in need.
The trees were scheduled to be lighted at 4:30 p.m. Friday, set to the sounds of Christmas music, and the man of the hour, Santa himself, is rumored to make an appearance before a holiday movie screening at the Mancos Community Center.
“Friday night is a huge highlight,” said Mancos Chamber of Commerce director Marie Chiarizia. “People come into town and bring their kids to see the tree lighting.”
An additional Friday night highlight will be the Annual Western Gear Show at the seventh annual Christmas on the trail, starting at 5 p.m. The street fair celebration is outfitted with an authentic chuckwagon dinner from Rockin’ W Chuckwagon. Rockin’ W will be serving up homemade chili, sopapillas and coffee in front of the Goodnight Trail Gallery on Main Street and Grand Avenue. Inside the Goodnight Trail Gallery, art from George Bumann, Peter Campbell, Jerry Cohoe, Carole Cooke, Jimmy Cook, Russell Crites, Maria D’ Angelo, Patsy Davis, Mike Desatnick, Barry Eisenach, Veryl Goodnight and others will be on display and available for purchase.
Christmas cookies and karaoke can be found at the Columbine Friday night, as the local watering hole is hosting its annual Christmas Cookie decoration contest at 6:30 p.m., which also features free hot chocolate.
Saturday morning, the Lions Club’s Christmas Bazaar is setting up shop at the Mancos High School Cafeteria and runs from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. The club raised funds at Mancos Days in July for the three-day Breakfast with Santa event for Mancos kids in kindergarten through second-grade. The breakfast event will allow local kids to dine with Santa at Absolute Bakery and Cafe, free of charge, on the mornings of Dec. 16-18.
Wrapping up this weekend’s start to the holiday season is the Mancos Valley Chorus’ holiday show “Snowflakes and Other Wintry Things.”
And if that doesn’t get you in the spirit, on Dec. 9 and 10, Cliff Palace at Mesa Verde National Park will be lighted with luminarias for the first time since 2006. On Saturday, Dec. 12 from 4 to 6 p.m., there will be a Christmas social hosted by the Mancos Valley Historical Society at the historic Wrightsman House from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., followed by horse-drawn wagon caroling.
Events as part of the Mancos’ Olde Fashioned Christmas run through December, leading up to Christmas. For a full schedule of events, visit The Journal’s community calendar or http://bit.ly/1ltsD7t.
