COVID-19 will not dampen the festive spirit
Businesses hosting car parade, scavenger hunt
As multiple holiday specials have made clear over the years, nothing can stop the Christmas spirit, even in the direst circumstances.
The year 2020 has put that idea to the test. The COVID-19 pandemic and the statewide ban on large public gatherings have led to the cancelation of several holiday festivities, including the Downtown Dixon Business Association’s (DDBA) annual Christmas Tree Lighting Festival, which would have been held Thursday.
However, Dixon businesses were not going to let the holiday spirit fall to the wayside this year. They came together to put on a Christmas Cruise on the same day the Tree Lighting Festival was originally scheduled for.
Cars will parade through downtown, businesses will host socially distanced activities, storefronts will be decorated and the tree in Women’s IMprovement Club Park will be decorated and lit, just as it would in any other year.
Jill Orr, president of DDBA’s Board of Directors, said the event was the brainchild of Karstin Feinhandler of Almond Tree Mortgage who wanted local businesses to do something in lieu of the traditional festival.
“She just wanted something to happen, and she had the energy and she had the staff to help out,” Orr said. “It was all from her that this has evolved.”
Feinhandler began envisioning the cruise around the same time Solano County reverted back to the state’s purple tier, which places further restrictions on gatherings.
“I knew that we weren’t going to be able to do anything communitywide that would violate the COVID restrictions,” she said.
Feinhandler has participated in the Tree LIghting Festival with her two sons since she first moved to Dixon nearly 20 years ago and has fond memories of them getting popcorn and hot chocolate while taking part in a community celebration.
“I just really wanted to keep that alive but, of course, do it in a very safe fashion for our community to help encourage people to stay COVID-friendly and be safe, yet still be festive,” she said.
In past years, the Tree Lighting Festival has offered everything from live performances to craft fairs to a petting zoo. As a result, Orr said this has created lifelong memories for countless families and hopes the cruise will do the same.
“These are the things that children remember,” she said. “We’re trying to continue these memories the best we can.”
The parade will traverse down a route beginning on Fitzgerald Drive near Cardinal Health and wind all the way throughout the city, stopping near the Dixon Public Library. Along the way, businesses will provide their own festivities. Dancers at Dixon Dance Studio will perform, Ron DuPratt Ford will have a drive-thru event, and The Barn & Pantry and Frosty’s will have a variety of live performances, including Vacaville’s School of Rock students at 5 p.m., Keri Scott singing classic Christmas tunes at 6 p.m. and Mike Tuck & Friends performing country-fied Christmas songs at 7 p.m.
Almond Tree Mortgage will also be hosting a scavenger hunt. Feinhandler said the hunt was largely created by employee Hailey Pruett, who graduated from Dixon HIgh School in the spring.
“I asked her to take this project and run with it because I wasn’t going to be able to do the management of it myself being that I’m busy,” Feinhandler said.
The idea is to have people go to different businesses after picking up a card at the Chamber of Commerce office on North Jefferson Street and receving stamps at each stop they go to. Participants can then bring the cards over to Almond Tree Mortgage where they will receive a prize yet to be determined. Additionally, Santa will be at Almond Tree Mortgage for kids to have their pictures taken with him.
Other participating businesses include S&S Deli, It’s All About the Scrapbook, Ramtown Karate, Pacific Flyway Supplies, Kula’s Boutique, Uptown Collective, Pip Wine Bar, The Good Scoop, Dawson’s Bar & Grill, Rosemary’s Farm-to-Fork Cafe, Freedom Church and more.
The parade will be led by Kar Kulture, which Feinhandler said has organized multiple car parades since the start of the pandemic. They will have a trailer pulling a lit Christmas tree donated by Silveyville Christmas Tree Farm, and people are encouraged to place unwrapped gifts or canned goods to be donated to various community organizations to be distributed to those in need.
Additionally, the 25-foot tree in Women’s Improvement Club Park, which has been donated by Barbara Bulkely for the last five years, will remain lit and decorated for the duration of the holiday season.
In the past, Orr said the Tree Lighting Festival has allowed attendees to get to know their local businesses a little bit better. This year, she said the Christmas Cruise will serve the same purpose.
“in this time, we’re all trying to figure out how to get our customers in,” she said. “This is them extending their hand forward and saying, ‘ Hey, we’re here… here are the services we offer. This is just a way to embrace our community with our local businesses but give all the citizens an oportunity to enjoy Christmas, be it at a distance that we have to be.”
Feinhandler said the event serves as a reminder that the holidays are still happening.
“There’s still ways that we can be festive and spend time with our families and enjoy the holidays, and yet be safe,” she said.
Orr said it is an opportunity to get people out of the house and see people in their community.
“We can’t be together and hug each other and talk like we would normally be doing, but at least we can get out of the house and see things that are gonna make us feel good,” she said.
The event will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday. For a map and add it ion a l i n f orma t ion , go t o Fa c ebook . c om/ events/201528671457424.