The annual Country Christmas celebration in Stevensville, sponsored by the Stevensville Civic Club and local businesses, will be held Friday and Saturday, December 3rd and 4th.
The evening will kick off with the Parade of Lights, which will be all-vehicle again this year. Last year, the parade was changed from a walking parade to a vehicle parade, and the response to that was overwhelmingly positive. People can still gather at 3rd and Main to enjoy caroling by members of the Stevensville High School Choir, view the Living Nativity, and hear the reading of the Christmas Story.
Santa Claus will be riding one of the decorated fire trucks that will be featured in the parade. Individuals are invited to decorate their vehicles and line up at 6 p.m. in the alley on the east side of Main heading north. The parade will take place around 6:30 p.m. (Call Liz at 880-2007 for more information.)
Following the parade, the winner of the Flip the Switch coloring contest, sponsored by the Town of Stevensville, will flip the switch that turns on the overhead holiday street lights.
A2Z Personnel is sponsoring tree and window decorating contests for local businesses. The public can vote on these from Monday, November 29th through Friday, December 3rd. Winners will get to display the traveling trophies.
New this year will be a live auction on the sidewalk in front of Rocky Mountain Bank, which will take place around 7 p.m. A select group of Christmas trees decorated by local businesses will be auctioned off to benefit Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in the Bitterroot Valley. That program supplies a free book a month to children ages birth to 5. In addition to the trees, live auction items include a dinner at Mission Bistro for a family of four with a personal visit from Santa, gourmet cheesecakes and some mystery items. The end of the live auction will signal the beginning
of an online auction that runs from December 3rd to December 6th. The online auction will feature more decorated trees, stockings stuffed with special gift items, gift baskets and a cork pull, where people can purchase a cork that represents a “mystery” bottle of wine. The proceeds of the online auction will also benefit Imagination Library.
As always, Stevensville’s downtown businesses will have open houses and special sales during the Country Christmas celebration. Free horse-drawn wagon rides will be available on Friday evening, loading at Cenex and Montana Bob’s. You can ride up and down Main Street or catch a wagon to St. Mary’s Mission where there will be a nativity and snow globe display. Historic St. Mary’s Mission and Museum will host the Nativities Around the World and Snow Globe Display on December 3, 4 and 5. (You can share your nativities and snow globes in this special exhibit by bringing them to St. Mary’s Mission at 315 Charlos Street on Nov. 30, Dec. 1 or 2 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Call 777-5734 for information.)
A2Z Personnel is sponsoring a yard decoration contest with voting by the public through December 29th. Entries are due December 1st. Maps and voting forms will be available in the Bitterroot Star’s upcoming editions or at A2Z Personnel, 215 Main, and can be dropped off any time until December 29th. You will also be able to vote on Facebook. The winner will be announced on December 31st. For more information contact Liz at 880-2007.