Tag: virginiacity

I know it hardly feels like winter has even started around here, given that we haven't had any snow since September. But now that Thanksgiving is in our rear-view mirror, it's time to start looking forward to Christmas. Already decorations are popping up on houses around the area, and a whole host of civic Christmas events are planned for the next week. Here's what's coming up:

Carson City

Silver & Snowflakes Holiday Tree Lighting will be on Thursday December 6, 2007 from 5:30 PM to 6:30 PM. Festivities begin on the Capitol grounds. The State trees will be lit, Santa will give out candy canes, and the 300 voices of the Carson City 5th Grade Music Students Singing Ensemble will contribute the music. A warm feeling envelops the Capitol as families gather to hear children sing and to watch the tree and all of Carson Street spring to light. The young and young at heart all squeal with delight as Santa and his helper arrive in a decorated 1926 Model T, driven by Beau the dog. Sixteen creative willow "reindeer" made the week of the event by local school children and Boy Scouts, under the guidance of "Willow" Bill, will be placed on the Capitol lawn and above the Capitol portico and lit with white lights.

5:30 PM Carson City 5th Grade Music Students Singing Ensemble starts to sing. Carson Middle School Red Hot Bell Peppers handbell choir will accompany them.
5:30 PM Santa Arrives in a 1926 Model T Ford. He will give out candy canes.
5:40 PM Remarks by Gov. Jim and Mrs. Dawn Gibbons
5:45 PM Tree Lighting; all of Carson Street is lit up.
5:55 PM Remarks by Carson City Mayor Marv Teixiera
6:00 PM Candlelight Procession to City Tree at Musser & Nevada Streets (First Presbyterian Church). Songs by the BAC In Time Carolers.
6:15 PM City Tree Lighting by Mayor Teixeira.
6:30-7:00 PM City Hall Open House. Art Contest winners announced and prizes given by the Mayor. BAC In Time Carolers will sing. Refreshments will be served.

Minden

Minden's annual Weihnachts Strasse Fest, German Christmas Market, opens noon, Nov. 30 in the old C.O.D. Garage. Toys, handicrafts, candles, ceramics and woodwork will be featured in about 30 booths. Many traditional German specialties such as stollen, gingerbread, pretzels, sausages and gluewein (hot spiced wine) as well as Chinese food will be available. Hot cider and cookies will be served by the Carson Valley Inn. Hours of the market are noon to 8 p.m. Nov. 30, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Dec. 1 and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 2.

The lights of the Minden gazebo will be turned on 6 p.m. Friday night, Nov. 30, with the help of Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus. Children get one free picture with Santa on Friday night at Santa's house in the Christmas market.

The 12th annual Parade of Lights begins 5 p.m. Dec. 1 at Lampe Park in Gardnerville, traveling on Highway 395 and ending in Minden Park around 6 p.m. This year's theme is Holiday Traditions from Around the World.

Live music at the Christmas Market Saturday night and a live Christmas play on Sunday afternoon.

Gardnerville

The Town of Gardnerville presents the third Carson Valley Christmas Season Kick Off, 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 28 at the Heritage Park pavilion. The family-oriented event features the Sierra Ringers from Carson Valley United Methodist Church, a quartet singing holiday music and Carson Valley Community Theater's presentation of Santa's Little Helper Part 3, "Which Way is North?" The park pavilion will be lit and Santa Claus will be on hand to welcome children young and old to the 2007 Christmas season. Also on the program is the dedication of the Zelda Shaw Memorial.

Come and join us for hot chocolate, hot apple cider, provided by Red's 395 Grill, popcorn courtesy of Gardnerville Water Co. and a holiday treat provided by the Town of Gardnerville. Carriage rides around the park will also be available.

Virginia City

The Parade of Lights, Virginia City's traditional Christmas Parade will start at 4 p.m. Saturday, Dec 1. Prizes will be awarded for the best entries. Call the visitors center at 847-4FUN (4386) or visit the Visitor Center for more information and an entry form.

You know, I was really happy to see this article in the Nevada Appeal. It's the story of the B Street Bed & Breakfast in Virginia City, which just opened its door a couple of weeks ago. Above is a picture of the place. I know it doesn't look like much. But that's the before picture, the way it looked in 20032004 when I went for a day trip up to Virginia City. I was drawn to the house not only because of its run-down appearance, but also because of the For Sale sign out front. Who, I wondered, would be brave enough to take this "fixer-upper" on as a project?

Apparently, Carolyn and Chris Eichin were brave enough. They bought it soon after I took the picture, and put in three years of sweat to restore it to a glory it probably hadn't seen since 1876. And they've opened it up as the B Street Bed & Breakfast, the latest move in the great resurgence Virginia City has been going through lately.

It's great to see these adaptive reuse projects springing up all over Virginia City. The B Street Bed & Breakfast is only the latest in a long line of renovations, like the Cafe Del Rio and Edith Palmer's Country Inn, where buildings that were crumbing and neglected were restored to life, and with them, a little life is brought back to Virginia City. I wasn't around to see Virginia City at its lowest point, in the 1950s and 60s, but I have been around to see the growth it's been going through in the last 20 years as it's being rediscovered as one of the best tourist attractions in the West. Of course with new development and new growth come the danger of losing the very things that make Virginia City a charming place to visit, but I think that most of these renovations are done in the spirit of bring back to Virginia City the Victorian grandeur it once had. Trying to erase the effects of time, and go back to the 1870s when the town rivaled San Francisco in opulance. The entire town is one giant museum, after all, and projects like these are just new exhibits being put on display. I'm excited to see what else Virginia City has in store for all of us.

I just wish I could get up there more than once a year.

Visit the website of the B Street Bed & Breakfast for information on the history of the house, a peek inside the bedrooms, and list of prices.