Saratoga News

Photograph by Robert Scheer

Snowmen made from wood and cloth decorate Collins' folk-art store, Henrietta Hen.

Holiday Guide '97

West Valley Traditions

Parades, music and open houses ring in the winter holidays

By Ann Lencioni

Every year, on the Friday after Thanksgiving, Saratoga Village welcomes the holiday season, the time when a stretch of Big Basin Way is transformed--as Thomas Hardy put it--into "a little . . . blinking sort o' place."

It's called the Saratoga Village Annual Holiday Open House, and it is one of several Yuletide traditions unique to Los Gatos and Saratoga.

The hosts of the open house, the merchants of the Village, polish and trim and decorate for weeks in preparation for the one-day celebration. Celebrants start arriving at 6 p.m.--often after having had dinner with friends--and stay until about 9 p.m. They come to walk among the trees that sparkle with holiday lights and to enjoy the glitter and the tinsel and the sweet smells of Christmas. They come to hear the carolers and street musicians, often joining in the singing themselves. They come for the cookies and coffee and hot apple cider put out by the merchants.

Some of these holiday treats have become a tradition in their own right--like the gingerbread cookies served by Donna Collins, proprietor of the American folk art store, Henrietta Hen.

But Collins' contribution to Saratoga's Holiday Open House is much more noteworthy than her famous gingerbread men. She is the person responsible for keeping the tradition alive. In the absence of a Village Association, Collins explains, "somebody has to do it."

"The Open House has been a Saratoga tradition for more than 20 years," she continues, "and I've been involved the past few years." Her involvement, by no means minimal, includes stringing lights on all the trees and preparing and distributing fliers to the business owners throughout the Village. "They all cooperate and are enthusiastic--even the banks will stay open late that night," Collins says. "And this year, Mrs. Benson from Benson Antiques is having a bagpiper!"

Montalvo welcomed the season last weekend with Yuletide at Montalvo, the first of the West Valley holiday celebrations. Each year in mid-November, the Montalvo mansion, decorated with Christmas trees and ornaments, is open to the ticket-holding public. Tea is served in the afternoons, and hot soup in the evenings. On Sunday, guests can partake in one of the many children's programs. Saratogan Anne Cross described the event as "one of the great traditions of Christmas which we Saratogans just love."

The most noted holiday event in the town of Los Gatos is the children's parade, the largest of its sort on the West Coast. The parade will begin winding its way down N. Santa Cruz Avenue at 11 a.m. on Dec. 6 until it ends--two miles and more than two hours later--in front of Civic Center. Every year for the past 41 years, some 20,000 people have lined the streets to watch it, rain or shine.

"Since 1956, when the police and recreation departments started the parade, the focus has been on the children--to give them a good time, but also to recognize them," parade chairman Reed Graham said.

In keeping with that objective, the grand marshal of this year's parade will be Ted Simonson, principal of Los Gatos High School, so honored because of his active involvement, spanning more than 40 years, with the youth of Los Gatos.

The other marchers are mostly children--Brownies, Scouts and groups from the YMCA. Some entries will be humorous, like the Cacuzza Squash Team, and some well-traveled, like the Scottish Band from Southern California. The nationally recognized Stanford Marching Band will also perform, along with the Los Gatos and Saratoga high schools bands. The historic Wells Fargo stagecoach and an old fire engine could be among the favorites this year, although for most of the children the jolly old fellow in the red suit at the end of the parade will probably be the best.

The Holiday Tree Lighting in Town Plaza will set the stage for the parade on the evening of Dec. 5. With the LGHS jazz band playing in the background, the mayor will introduce the three Youth Citizens of the Year: 14-year-old Adam Bortolussi, 17-year-old Anita Bruna and 17-year-old Angel Cheng. After the switch is thrown, close to a thousand lights will dance on the splendid cedar that dominates the park. Santa, they say, will arrive on a fire truck, and Adam, Anita and Angel will have a practice run at blowing the very loud whistle, which will begin the parade the next day.

The most cherished sounds of Christmas, though, are the sounds of bells. In Los Gatos, the jingle of the bells means the arrival of an endearing tradition: horse-drawn carriage rides around the town. The carriages are princely, festooned with ribbons and greenery. The horses are handsome, the clickety-clack of their hooves on the street a hint of how it must have been long ago.

For 11 days, beginning the evening of the tree-lighting in the Plaza, the carriages will jingle up and down N. Santa Cruz Avenue and along some of the streets of historical homes. Rides are 20 minutes long and cost $10 per person. Organizers suggest making reservations through the Chamber of Commerce office. Los Gatos resident Rita Larson says this is her family's favorite holiday tradition. "We look forward to it so much, and since we'll probably never have a white Christmas here, at least my four kids will experience a kind of a sleigh ride!"

The season of light is also the season of music. Mary Foster, curator at the Forbes Mill Museum (and the legendary "Mother Goose" of the parade), has given the gift of holiday song to Los Gatos. She conceived the idea of the "Twelve Days of Christmas" four years ago. Today, with the help of a few volunteers, it is already a highly acclaimed holiday tradition. On each of the 12 days before Christmas, the main room of the museum fills with an eclectic collection of live musicians. The performers this year include choirs from local churches, the Metropolitan String Ensemble from San Jose and Ryan Aver, a 12-year-old pianist from San Jose. Musicians from Los Gatos, including harpist Lynn Rovin, flutist Mimi Carlson and Sidesaddle, a bluegrass group, will also play. Performances are free.

"Come for the music," Foster said, "and come for the mulled cider and cookies."

Come also for the spirit of the season--to rejoice and be glad.

[ Back to Contents Page | Saratoga News Home Page | Archives ]