Willow Glen Resident

News

Downtown will bring good cheer throughout the holidays

By Alicia Upano

The weather has turned colder, but Willow Glen is warming up to the holidays. Decorations line Lincoln Avenue, horse-drawn carriages and carolers amble through the streets, and Santa has taken up residence in the Garden Theater.

The season kicked off in late November with a merchant open house over Thanksgiving weekend, and the Nov. 30 annual tree lighting at Willow Glen Elementary School. In the coming weeks, Willow Glen will turn into a winter wonderland as businesses set up various activities for the family.

The activities are the tried-and-true holiday fare of years past, but the Willow Glen Business and Professional Association is boosting the quality of the events, said Norma Ruiz, the association's executive director.

Ruiz credits the generosity of downtown sponsors for offering the resources to brighten the holiday season, including Willow Glen-based Kelly Properties and J. Barnes Construction. Their assistance has helped the association promote the downtown and its events, as well as collaborate with schools for events such as the tree lighting.

Specifically, the Willow Glen Santa House is moving into the remodeled Garden Theater on Dec. 7 for more visibility, Ruiz said.

"We hope it's going to be a little more traditional, with that old Bergmann building kind of feeling," Ruiz said.

Parents are invited to bring their digital cameras to take keepsake photos. Santa will be in the Garden Theater lobby on Thursday and Friday evenings and Saturday afternoons.

Also beginning Dec. 7 is Willow Glen's signature horse-and-carriage rides on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings until Dec. 23.

The business association hopes residents will find relief from frenzied holiday shopping by turning to Willow Glen's relaxed retail atmosphere. The downtown children's bookstore, Hicklebee's, will offer Holiday Slipper Stories every Thursday. Store co-owner Valerie Lewis said the store will bring back popular storyteller Margaret More every Thursday evening. Children are invited to come in pajamas and slippers and listen to More's tales unravel. More comes in costume and brings her spinning wheel and horn, Lewis said.

Hicklebee's will also host carolers led by employee Carol Muller on Dec. 16 at noon. Muller, a board member of the Peninsula Youth Theatre, hosted a group of costumed teens that performed in Willow Glen last year.

"It's always fun to sing around the holidays," Muller says. "We had a fabulous time last year."

A wealth of music will be heard along Lincoln Avenue. Fred Oliver and members of the Stone Church of Willow Glen plan to bring their carols to downtown Willow Glen. Oliver has fond memories of years past, strolling into the former Sharky's Oyster Bar and Grill and spreading cheer in front of John's XLNT Foods.

But to Oliver, caroling is just one of the things that makes Willow Glen special over the holidays.

"You try to keep the character of the old Willow Glen town," Oliver said.