After Santa and Mrs. Claus appeared outside the Scotts Valley Community Center on a fire truck and “lit” the Christmas tree during the Holiday Tree Lighting Festival on Dec. 4, the 200-300 people in attendance weren’t prepared for what would come next.
Suddenly, as if they’d been transported to the North Pole, real snow began to fall from the sky.
“It just added a nice touch,” said organizer Victor Alejandro, president of the Exchange Club of Scotts Valley, of the snowmaking device brought in by Greg Wimp, owner of local Togo’s Sandwiches. “A lot of people moved towards the snow machine to get snowed upon.”
This set off a program featuring Wings School of Dance, the Scotts Valley Middle School Choir, a duet from Scotts Valley High School, Agape School of Dance, and singers Emma Brooke, Brayan Francis and Liz Hodgin.
Organizers estimate about 400 people took part in the festivities throughout the evening.
A lot of work went into making the event a reality.
Scouts BSA Troup 614 helped put decorations up in the hall.
“The whole place was completely transformed into a Christmas wonderland,” Alejandro said. “It really did have a festival feel to it.”
The space was decked out with an outdoor patio where you could get hot chocolate and browse booths showcasing local service clubs.
In the past, the event was called Light Up the Night.
Alejandro said he was happy to step up to put this year’s edition together since the Scotts Valley of Chamber of Commerce wasn’t doing it anymore, and the Scotts Valley Parks & Recreation Advocates—which had been in charge most recently—have disbanded.
To bring the event to life, he started researching what went into previous incarnations, but speaking with previous organizers.
“We all basically collected stories of what used to happen for the tree lighting event,” he said.
Danny Reber, the Chamber’s executive director, gave him a key piece of advice.
“We started small,” Reber told him.
This advice was quickly heeded by Alejandro.
“That’s what I proposed,” Alejandro said. “Let’s start small.”
So they began with the basics: Santa and Mrs. Claus arriving on the fire truck.
But as the planning went on, more and more elements were added back in.
Santa and Mrs. Claus would also light the second tree outside Walgreens—thanks to the Ow family supporting the electricity bill and Council ponying up for other costs.
Bobbie Ward of Performance Vocal offered to have some of her students sing at the event.
Meanwhile, organizers decided to raise money—and bring in food and toy donations—for Valley Churches United.
The charity played an important role in the disaster relief efforts in the wake of the CZU Lightning Complex fire.
“Part of the event was to place food barrels around town,” Alejandro said. “We exceeded expectations for the donations.”
He says the festival raised $1,500 for the non-denominational group based in San Lorenzo Valley.
The event wouldn’t have been possible without the contributions of top sponsors Mari and Ed Rossi and Areias Systems, he added.
“I think this was an extremely successful event; we definitely look forward to being part of it next year,” Alejandro said, adding it’s important to contribute to the community year-round—not just at Christmas. “I invite people to look for ways to invest their time, effort and resources.”
The Exchange Club is also sponsoring a family in need this holiday season, he explained.
Robert Aldana, BMS Management Services, Garrison Inc, Donna Lind, Reynolds Group, Bruno’s Bar & Grill, Eugene Bustichi & Son, Togo’s, Valley Churches United, Business with Pleasure, Corvin Legal Service, Dave Patrick, SCM Enterprise, Brothers Food Truck, Scotts Valley Fire District, Scotts Valley Police Officers’ Association, Kiwanis of Scotts Valley, Rotary Club of Scotts Valley, Cruise Coffee, Pacific Cookie Company, Vineyard Church and Seth and Jeanette Larkin also helped make the event a reality, according to Alejandro.
