Scenes of the Season
It’s a magical time of the year, for young and old, alike! If you look, you might see a twinkle in a senior’s eye, or a smile on a child’s face; and you can spot many enchanting and captivating scenes! The Christmas season always kicks off right after Thanksgiving, with Black Friday shopping hysteria, and continues with the famous Sonora Christmas Parade and the renowned Sonora Christmas Festival! But over the next few weeks, there’ll be many more Christmas fairs, concerts and special events! Mark your calendar: Santa flies into the Mother Lode (via helicopter) and lands at Standard Park (on Tuolumne Road), Saturday, December 5th, around noon! If you miss that, your kid(s) can still talk to Santa in his little vacation cabin in Courthouse Park, December 7th-12th, from 4 to 6:30 p.m.! For more Christmas events, keep checking our SMT Calendar!
Steven Duke puts the finishing touches on his Christmas window painting at El Jardin (N. Washington Street, Sonora)! Duke, 47, has lived in the Mother Lode for fifteen years and paints windows every holiday season.
Looks like this cedar escaped from one of the local Christmas tree lots; popping up at the Sonora Christmas Festival! “I’ve been doing this for about twenty years!” reveals Linda “The Human Christmas Tree” King (of Twain Harte)! “It’s fun to be cheery and help people! I’m kind of like an information center and I give out candy canes! The kids kind of like it!”
Candle-dipping at Sierra Waldorf School’s booth at the Sonora Christmas Festival! Pictured from front to back are Lily Barrett, 5, and Chase Barrett, 10, (both from Modesto); along with Alyssa Graham, 8, of Copperopolis and Bella Gonzales, 7, of Tuolumne. “It’s fun! And when you’re done, it makes you happy inside! Candles are pretty on Christmas!” exclaims Alyssa. After dipping their wicks into the buckets of hot liquid wax, the end result will be beautiful, colorful candles.
Santa talks with Ethan Campbell, 3, of Modesto. (Ethan got his face painted at the Sonora Christmas Festival.) Ethan asked Santa for a haunted house and a train station!
