Tag: governorsmansion

The Governor's Mansion is looking very resplendent in its Christmas dress.

In case you thought you had to wait until after Thanksgiving to put up Christmas decorations, don't sweat it. You can just follow the example of the Nevada Governor's Mansion, which seems to have taken down the Halloween decorations with the left hand while simultaneously putting up reindeer with the right.

And if you were worried that Thanksgiving had been skipped over entirely, don't be. There is a little tableau out by the street, where the "Gibbons Family" brings you apples and muskets and Technicolor turkeys.

It was another successful Halloween on the west side of Carson City. We hit all the same houses and saw all the same decorations, but even though things change little from year to year there is a refreshing familiarity to it all. Some of the houses on the west side really go all out with the decorations, and it makes the whole thing much more fun than just trick or treating in an ordinary neighborhood.

One thing we noticed, though, is that the Governor's Mansion is a lot less exciting now that Jim Gibbons is in office. The governor was there, handing out candy and posing for photographs, just like Kenny Guinn used to do. But the whole atmosphere around the mansion was subdued. There use to be music, and dancing, and elaborate decorations, and a feeling like this was really something special. Now there's just as many people there, but the decorations are lackluster, there's no music so it's quiet, and the place just feels like the life is gone from it. It was like that last year too, Gibbons' first Halloween in the mansion, and this year was even more pronounced. The family and staff just don't put as much into Halloween as the Guinns used to, and the experience suffers for it.

Here's some video of this year's decorations.

It's time to start getting excited for Halloween! Many of the houses on Carson City's west side, including the "hot spot" along Mountain Street between Musser and Caroline, have put up their decorations already. Less than two weeks now until the big day!

The Christmas lights at the Governor's Mansion are burning brightly. But one wonders if the Governor will be turning off 4.5 percent of the lights.