COLUSA, CA (MPG) — Holiday celebrations will stretch across Colusa County from late November through Christmas Day, with book sales, street festivals, Santa tours, parades and a community dinner planned in several towns.
Online bidding for the Colusa County Arts Council’s “O Christmas Tree” silent auction opens Saturday, Nov. 29, with decorated trees and wreaths on display at the gallery in downtown Colusa. Residents can preview items online and register to bid at givebutter.com/c/ochristmastree/auction or sign up in person during gallery hours and at Christmas Tyme on Main Street.
The Friends of the Colusa County Free Library open the season on Monday, Dec. 1, with the annual Merry Mocktail Mixer from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Colusa County Branch Library, 738 Market St. in Colusa. The mixer serves as a preview sale for members, who get first pick of donated books saved all year for the Christmas sale. Memberships are available at the door, and proceeds support county branch libraries. This year’s special item is Volume 16 of the 30-volume “Golden Days for Boys and Girls,” a bound collection from the 1894-95 weekly magazine.
Girls” volume that will be featured at the group’s Merry Mocktail Mixer preview book sale on Dec. 1 at the Colusa
County Branch Library. Courtesy photo
Christmas Tyme Colusa Festival and Market returns to Main Street on Friday, Dec. 5, from 6 to 9 p.m. Visitors can enter at Market and Fifth streets and cross at the four-way stop for added safety. The Water Tower Stage at Eighth and Main will feature live performances, while food courts offer snacks and drinks and vendors sell crafts, quilts, jewelry and toys. Santa arrives at 6:30 p.m., followed by the community tree lighting at 7 p.m. Vendor spaces are nearly full. For details, visit colusachamber.com/Christmas or call 530-458-5525.
This year, the Colusa County Chamber will also “bring back the glow” with the Colusa Christmas Glow-off, a storefront decorating contest that invites local businesses to light up downtown. Visitors will stroll through town, scan QR codes and vote for their favorite decorated businesses. Colusa residents will judge the entries, and winners will be announced on stage during Christmas Tyme. First place receives the Glow-off Trophy for the year and a $100 gift certificate, second place earns a $50 gift certificate, and third place receives a $25 gift certificate. Businesses can register at colusachamber.com/glow-off or by emailing Christmastyme@ColusaChamber.org.
During Christmas Tyme, the Colusa County Arts Council will host an in-person viewing and final bidding for its silent auction from 6 to 8 p.m. on Dec. 5 at the gallery. Trees and wreaths feature themes such as Western Christmas, Woodland Wonder, Traditional Christmas and The Art of Christmas. Online bidding closes at 9 p.m. that night.
In Arbuckle, the Arbuckle Revitalization Committee will host the Hometown Holiday Stroll and Tree Lighting on Sunday, Dec. 7, from 4 to 7 p.m. in LaVanche Hursh Community Park. The evening will include food vendors, holiday booths, carriage rides and a visit with Santa. For vendor information, call 951-218-2372.
The committee also invites Arbuckle residents and businesses to decorate their properties for the holidays and sign up to be included on a community map. Judges will visit homes on the route. For information on how to be listed, email RevitalizingArbuckle@gmail.com.
Colusa firefighters are collecting donations to support their annual Santa on Wheels, Gifts in Gear and Pancake Breakfast with Santa traditions. Community members can give through Venmo at @colusafirefighters with “Holiday Events” in the memo line, or donate to specific events at colusafirefightersassociation.com. Organizers say every dollar goes back into local families.
Santa on Wheels will roll through Colusa neighborhoods Dec. 15 to 19 from 6 to 9 p.m. each night, weather permitting. Santa rides with the Colusa Fire Department in a lighted firefighter sleigh and hands out candy canes. The department asks residents not to follow the entourage in vehicles for safety. The route on Dec. 15 starts at Levee and 13th streets and ends at Clay and Bridge streets. On Dec. 16, crews start at Parkhill and Bridge streets and end at Sioc and Baber streets. On Dec. 17, Santa starts at Third and Sioc streets and finishes on Wescott Street, including the nearby apartments. On Dec. 18, the tour covers the Country Club, Indian Oaks, Walnut Ranch and Sunrise Landing neighborhoods. Dec. 19 is reserved as a make-up night if weather cancels an earlier run.
Maxwell will celebrate with Maxwell Country Christmas on Friday, Dec. 19. A vendor fair will run from 5 to 8 p.m., and a lighted tractor parade is set for 6 p.m. Vendors will set up along San Francisco Street between The Maxwell Inn Bar and Grill and BM Bar. The parade will follow the same route as the town’s rodeo parade, with the announcer’s stand in front of the park and recreation district building. Organizers said the change supports new park improvements near the town tree and thanked the Maxwell Fire Department and its association for their help. Vendor and parade entry forms are available at maxwellparkandrec.com/signup-forms. For more information, text Kyle at 530-501-6588.
On Christmas Day, the long-running Yuletide Dinner will welcome guests at Trinity United Methodist Church’s Friendship Hall at Fifth and Oak streets in Colusa. Dine-in and takeout meals will be served from noon to 1 p.m., and volunteers will deliver meals countywide from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. To request a delivery, call Denise at 530-908-7479. To make a donation, call Marie at 530-713-6753. For volunteer details or general information, call Elizabeth at 530-228-5339.