West Seattle, Washington
09 Thursday
Every holiday season, Nucor Steel and its workers bring a huge gift to the West Seattle Food Bank – results of a food drive and a company cash match. Today was delivery day! Above, Melody Sarkies from Nucor sent the photo of preparations for departure from the plant by the bridge; below, Breanna Bushaw from WSFB sent the photo as they unloaded at the food bank’s HQ in High Point (with the help of Tacoma Hydraulics):
This year’s donations totaled 4,100 pounds of food – more than two tons! – and $20,473. Participating in the delivery today from Nucor were Dan Ness, Cooper Harrison, Jason Hanley, Abbie Hart, and Beth Roush; from Tacoma Hydraulics, Brad Martin, John Sawyer Sr., John Sawyer Jr., and Alex Sawyer. If you too can donate to West Seattle Food Bank (which also provides emergency assistance to keep people from becoming homeless), here’s how.
That Noble Fir growing outside a West Seattle home is destined to be someone’s Christmas tree, in a unique memorial and auction announced by a local family, From Kim Mickelson:
The Chris & Kim Mickelson family on 51st Pl SW in West Seattle is offering an 8-foot Noble Fir to the highest proposed donation to Medic One, in memory of Steven A. Olson, our brother, and our friend, retired City of Kirkland Fire Captain Keith Adams, both lost tragically in separate auto accidents in 2021.
HOW TO BID: The proposed donation amount should be emailed to KimberlyMickelson@icloud.com no later than Saturday, December 10, 2022 at midnight. The winning family will need to cut the tree down. It will be fresh! The top donation will be notified by 10 am on Sunday, December 11, 2022 and you’re welcome to come that day to cut and pick it up. I ask that the winner then either show the donation receipt or pay us and we will process the donation on your behalf.
The Mickelson,Olson and Adams families appreciate and thank you in advance for your support in this endeavor! Gone but not Forgotten.
The Mickelsons will plant a new Noble Fir in its place.
Tonight’s West Seattle Christmas lights spotlight shines on Ryan‘s house on Genesee Hill, 47th SW between Dakota and Andover, where the lights are synched to music. They had a Halloween show, and now one for the holiday season!
The music and lights run from 5 pm-9 pm and the show is about 30 minutes in length. Folks can listen from inside their car via FM radio or they are also welcome to bundle up, bring some hot chocolate, and listen to the music from the sidewalk. To make this a family event, some of the song lyrics are displayed for anyone that wants to sing along.
Got lots of lights? Seen someplace you want to tell us about? Please email westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you! (See what we’ve shown so far, archived newest to oldest – including past years – here. And current lights/music shows like this one are also listed in the WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide.)
The West Seattle Community Orchestras invite you to two free concerts this week – if you haven’t already seen them in our Holiday Guide or Event Calendar, here’s the full announcement:
The West Seattle Community Orchestras are returning to our home at Chief Sealth International High School to kick off our 20th season of winter concerts. We have been online and in alternate performance spaces for almost 3 years, so it is incredibly exciting to be back at Sealth, performing in the hall.
Tuesday 12/6 at 6 PM is the Debut Orchestra, conducted by Rachel Nesvig, and Concert Orchestra, conducted by Bryan Kolk. Both groups are playing a selection of pieces, including several timely Holiday pieces.
Friday, 12/9 at 7 PM, the Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Dr. Anna Wittstruck, is performing a selection of pieces, and we are so excited to showcase the Elgar Cello Concerto with soloist Alastair MacRae. Mr. MacRae is a local artist joining us from Tacoma, where he is the Cordelia Wikarski-Miedel Artist in Residence and cello instructor at the University of Puget Sound, as well as the cellist of the Puget Sound Piano Trio.
This should be a fantastic set of free concerts; we are so excited to see the community again, and provide some indoor entertainment after the week of snow!
(While there’s no admission charge, WSCO, as a nonprofit, is always happy to accept donations.) CSIHS is at 2600 SW Thistle.
Thinking about putting a bike or board under the tree for someone? Alki Bike and Board in The Admiral District (2606 California SW) has an offer for you:
We just opened up our “Holiday Layaway Hideaway”! We’ve got your back this holiday season with our Layaway Hideaway program. Buy anything in store and we will hold it for you until December 24th. We are also offering a layaway payment option, where you pay half down now and half at pickup. We have a ton of new bikes, skateboards, and gear in the shop to choose from.
Alki Bike and Board is open noon-5 pm on Sundays, noon-6 pm Tuesdays through Thursdays, 10 am-6 pm Fridays and Saturdays, closed Mondays.
If you’re going to The Junction tomorrow for the Farmers’ Market and/or other shopping – look for the return of some of West Seattle’s most popular handmade decorations! If you haven’t already seen it in our Holiday Guide, here’s the announcement:
Pathfinder K-8 PTSA is holding our 27th annual wreath fundraiser to benefit outdoor education at Pathfinder K-8 School. After a 2-year hiatus we’re so excited to announce we’re back selling Door Decor – wreaths and other holiday swag – at The Junction (next to Wells Fargo) during Farmers Market days December 4th, 11th, and 18th. Everything is 100% unique and made from foraged materials from our yards and tree lots (thank you, Trees by the Sea on Alki!). This year’s selection will be some of our best! For more info: pathfinderk8ptsa.org
Have a hot lead on fallen branches or other supplies we can use in our creations? Email kathleen.hynes@me.com and bae.jungun@gmail.com
Thank you for supporting the kids at Pathfinder School!
(Screengrab of California/Alaska traffic cam during event’s final hour)
4:18 PM: It’s happening now in The Junction, where California and Alaska are closed to traffic and open to winter fun at the expanded Hometown Holidays Festival, culminating with the tree lighting in Junction Plaza Park (42nd/Alaska, scheduled to follow the lights-costume contest, which is around 6 pm). Here’s the schedule:
4:00 – Festival begins. Night Market and Beer & Wine Garden are open. Endolyne Choir, School of Rock, and Mode Music Studio perform on stage.
5:00 – G.L.O.W.S. Costume Promenade on streets. Elvis performs on stage.
6:00 – Costume Contest on stage.
6:30 – Lighting of the tree in Junction Plaza Park, followed by Santa reading ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas and leading a carol sing-along.
7:00 – Dancer and Prancer perform on stage.
8:00 – Night Market and Beer & Mulled Wine Garden close.
Our preview, which includes more info on the contest, is here. See you there!
5:24 PM: The Night Market and light-costume promenade are happening on California.
The beer/wine garden is happening, and Elvis is performing, on Alaska.
(added) He was preceded by community musical groups including the Endolyne Choirs:
The tree lighting is an hour or less away!
6:50 PM: The tree is lit, and the festival continues:
(added) Here’s how the countdown went – first Jack Menashe, members of his family, and Santa took the stage:
Then, tree time:
The band Dancer & Prancer is closing out the entertainment, and the market and beer/wine continue until 8.
8:41 PM: We’ve added photos and video inline above (and still adding). One more highlight – the costume contest, with winners chosen by audience acclaim, after attendees were nominated by the light-costume artists who had been chosen to stroll, Here’s how it went, starting with the artists themselves onstage:
Winners got Junction gift cards – $500 for group, $250 for individual, $100 for pet. Junction Association executive director Chris Mackay promised the new feature – GLOWS (Glorious Light of West Seattle) – would be even better next year. As for this season, the next Hometown Holidays event – next Thursday night’s Art Walk, enhanced with holiday extras including carolers and Santa.
Paths are cleared to get to the Senior Center of West Seattle door at 4217 SW Oregon, and once you’re inside, you’ll see tables ringing the main hall with items you won’t see anywhere else – like Denise LeBlanc‘s calendars featuring her Northwest-scenery paintings:
Jen Vanderhoof‘s underwater photography gives you an up-close perspective on sea life:
Jen also has “beaver stick” pencils – made from sticks left behind by beavers.
Also crafted from wood, the dulcimers that Norm Zemke is selling:
They’re challenging to make, he explains, requiring “steam bending.” Then there are some repurposed crafts – Tammy Majeski‘s wreaths are made from vintage Christmas ornaments:
Other vendors have handmade apparel, jewelry, and baked goods – you’ll even find “fidget spinners,” This is all happening until 4 pm, which is when The Junction’s festival starts, so go early and catch the bazaar too.
“Let It Snow” was one of the first few carols tonight at Our Lady of Guadalupe‘s “Light Up the Night” celebration – and snow was indeed falling, lightly, by the time the city’s highest-elevation Christmas tree was illuminated. You can see it in our video:
Emcee Brian Callanan led the countdown, followed by more caroling from OLG’s 4th/5th-grades’ choir – here’s a longer version, with the closing carols, including the crowd-participation fave “Jingle Bells”:
It was a perfect holiday celebration, including warm beverages.
And warm hearts led to donations for the food drive helping St. Vincent de Paul:
OLG has another community holiday event ahead – one week from tonight, at 7 pm December 9, the vocal ensemble The Starry Crowns, who sang tonight’s first few songs, present a concert to which all are welcome. Meantime, you can see the OLG tree – and the other lights outside the church – by driving, riding, running, or walking past 7000 35th SW.
The first of this weekend’s three holiday tree-lighting events in West Seattle happened on the north side of Neighborhood House High Point this evening – the second annual Fruit Tree Lighting. High Point community builder Ella McRae led a cheery countdown:
The tree lighting followed an afternoon festival that celebrated both the arrival of winter and High Point’s new community-designed salmon street murals.
We’re now just one day away from an expanded Hometown Holidays street festival in The Junction, centered on the Night Market and tree lighting, also featuring the first-ever GLOWS (Glorious Lights of West Seattle) celebration. That includes artists promenading in light-decked costumes they designed – West Seattle Junction Association executive director Chris Mackay shares a photo she received showing one of the works in progress:
You’re invited to create your own costume of light to be part of a contest at the festival – the costumed artists will be judging the people they see promenading on California SW, which will be closed for the festival. The categories are Best Group, Best Individual, Best Pet; each artist will nominate one entrant in each category by handing them a light wand. If you get one, you’ll then be on stage at 6 pm for audience judging. Prizes are $500, $250, and $100 in Junction gift cards!
The festival runs 4-8 pm, with the Night Market and beer/hot-wine garden – sponsored by Elliott Bay Brewing and Darby Winery – open the whole time. You can also buy this limited-edition mug for your beverage (or future use) if interested:
For kids, Hope Lutheran will have free hot cocoa. Other things to know – here’s the festival schedule:
4:00 – Festival begins. Night Market and Beer & Wine Garden are open. Endolyne Choir, School of Rock, and Mode Music Studio perform on stage.
5:00 – G.L.O.W.S. Costume Promenade on streets. Elvis performs on stage.
6:00 – Costume Contest on stage.
6:30 – Lighting of the tree in Junction Plaza Park, followed by Santa reading ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas and leading a carol sing-along.
7:00 – Dancer and Prancer perform on stage.
Community co-sponsors of Hometown Holidays include WSB. The streets will close in the morning, and a variety of other events are happening all day at and around The Junction (see our Holiday Guide!), so come down early and enjoy the festivities.
We’ve been by already twice for previews (here and here) – and tonight’s the first official night for the Menashe Family‘s famous Christmas lights at 5605 Beach Drive SW. Our photo doesn’t really do it justice, so if you love lights, you have to see it in person. Here are two special dates you might consider visiting:
SANTA & MRS. CLAUS PHOTOS, DECEMBER 10: Santa and Mrs. Claus will be there 5 pm-9 pm Saturday, December 10, for DIY photos with kids. No charge but you’re asked to bring a nonperishable-food donation for the West Seattle Food Bank. (The WSFB donation barrels will be there starting the previous night, Friday, December 9, through Sunday, December 11, so you are invited to bring food donations those nights too.)
SANTA, MRS. CLAUS, & REINDEER PHOTOS, DECEMBER 20: The Clauses will return for photo ops Tuesday, December 20, 5 pm-9 pm, this time with real reindeer. The family hopes this will be a food-drive event too but they’re still working on logistics.
Got lights? Seen lights? See what we’ve shown here, and suggest what we should show next by emailing westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
(Photo courtesy Southwest Seattle Historical Society)
Two holiday-shopping notes tonight from the Southwest Seattle Historical Society – first, TONIGHT is the deadline to order Log House Museum 25th anniversary apparel in time to get it before Christmas (as first mentioned here two weeks ago) – you can order here. They’ll have another batch for sale after that, through year’s end, but not available before Christmas, so if you’re interested, order now.
Second, the museum’s gift shop will be open the next three Saturdays, with a holiday sale – half-price books and glass souvenir ornaments (photo above). You can shop local, support a nonprofit, and celebrate local history. The museum and gift shop are at 61st/Stevens, and you can visit the shop noon-4 pm December 3, 10, and 17.
(2020 photo from first year of the drop-off drive)
This Saturday (December 3rd( is one of the busiest days of the holiday season – so much happening – but if you can take a few minutes to stop by this student-organized drop-off food/coat drive, it would make a big difference toward keeping people from going hungry. Here’s the organizers’ announcement:
3rd Annual Drive-Through Holiday Food Drive!
My name is Atticus and I am a sophomore at Raisbeck Aviation High School. My brother Dominic, who is an 8th grader at Hope Lutheran, and I are once again doing a food drive to benefit the West Seattle Food Bank during the holiday season.
Just drive up and pop your trunk! Monetary donations are also appreciated.
We are also collecting new or gently used coats of all sizes which will be placed by WIN (Westside Interfaith Network) at their welcome table, every Saturday in White Center.
Thank you once again for helping us support the members of our community during these times!
They’ll be in the lower Hope Lutheran lot, off SW Oregon east of California, 10 am-3 pm Saturday.
(Photo courtesy Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish)
With the snow’s over and the possible wind has yet to arrive, we’re taking a moment to talk about three West Seattle tree lightings later this week:
FRIDAY NIGHT, HIGH POINT FRUIT-TREE LIGHTING: Following the afternoon Winter Festival (3-5 pm), you’re invited to (location updated) Neighborhood House High Point (6400 Sylvan Way SW) for the lighting of the fruit trees at 5:15 pm Friday (December 2nd). This is the second year of this multi-tree lighting ceremony in the park.
FRIDAY NIGHT, OLG ‘LIGHT UP THE NIGHT’: 7 pm at 35th/Myrtle, on the north side of Our Lady of Guadalupe, it’s the annual event lighting the city’s highest-elevation Christmas tree (along with other greenery outside the church). Christmas carol singalong, too. Bring a nonperishable food donation, if you can, for St. Vincent de Paul.
SATURDAY NIGHT, WEST SEATTLE JUNCTION: As we’ve previewed a few times already, this year the Christmas tree lighting at Junction Plaza Park (42nd/Alaska) is part of an even-bigger street festival, with a Night Market and Glorious Lights of West Seattle (wear lights and compete in a contest!), live holiday music, plus a beer/mulled-wine garden. The festival is set for 4 pm-8:30 pm, with the tree lighting at 6:30 pm.
With Christmas now four weeks away, it’s time to start spotlighting neighborhood Christmas lights. Thanks to Troy in Gatewood for sending the first photo we’ve received this year – from 41st/Portland. We appreciate your help in being on the lookout for lights – please send location tips and/or photos to westseattleblog@gmail.com, so we can feature lights nightly!
Last holiday season, See’s Candies had a pop-up shop in West Seattle. That’s gone but if you’re interested in See’s for someone on your gift list – and/or yourself – here’s a student fundraiser:
Want to help support a great group of kids? The Chief Sealth International High School Mock Trial team is selling See’s Candies for their winter fundraiser.
You can order through this form and pick up at Chief Sealth or pay a small ($5) fee for contactless delivery within West Seattle: tinyurl.com/csmtsees
If you’re out of town or prefer to have your order shipped directly you can order here: tinyurl.com/csmtcandy22
Orders are due 11/30, and will be available for delivery and/or pickup by 12/10.
If chocolate isn’t your thing but you’d like to make a direct donation, you can do so here: tinyurl.com/csmtdonate
Thank you for supporting a great group of students!
Questions? Contact Rebecca Neil at RLNeil@seattleschools.org
If you want to preview what they’re selling – it’s all listed on this flyer.
(Photo courtesy West Seattle Yuletide)
In case you missed the mentions in today’s preview list and the WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide: the music-synched light show West Seattle Yuletide is back! The Iverson family has relaunched the display, which like so many other things had been on pandemic hiatus since 2019. Their announcement continues:
We’re running shows on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evenings through December 23 and then every evening until January 1, 2023. Our shows will begin at 6:30 pm and run until about 10:00 PM. Olaf, our snowman, will appear beginning December 23 and weather permitting, he will be out every night.
Our show includes over 16,000 lights that dance to over 20 songs of the season. Our show is located in West Seattle, on 38th Ave SW between Genesee and Dakota. Just look for the flashing lights. Further information can be found at: westseattleyuletide.blogspot.com.
P.S. We’ll start showcasing neighborhood light displays tomorrow (Sunday) – photos/tips welcome at westseattleblog@gmail.com (we’ve already received a few) – thank you!
On this day of emphasis on “shopping small,” here’s one of your chances to buy from individual crafters/artists: Today’s holiday craft fair at C & P Coffee (5612 California SW; WSB sponsor). Among those participating are Karen Johnson, whose drawings explore “the biodiversity of our world … to serve as a reminder to us all that the world is full of many wonders, and we should use it wisely”:
Also there (L-R below) are Jim Dwight with woodwork and Thor Cutler with small stained-glass pieces:
C & P’s craft fair continues until 2 pm today.
(WSB photos/video unless otherwise credited)
Whether seated on shoulders or resting against railings, Christmas Ship fans were bunched up along the Don Armeni Boat Ramp shore tonight for the first 2022 stop of the Argosy Cruises tradition. The ship – known the rest of the year as Spirit of Seattle – stopped off the West Seattle park to serenade the waiting crowd.
The Dickens Carolers were on board to sing 20 minutes of Christmas classics, bite-size, so they packed in plenty, starting, appropriately, with “I Saw Three Ships and moved on to other favorites including “Winter Wonderland” (above) and “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus”:
The Christmas Ship will be back in West Seattle twice more – both tomorrow night (Saturday, November 26), 5:35 pm by Salty’s on Alki (1936 Harbor SW; WSB sponsor), 8:35 pm at Alki Beach Park (when Seattle Parks will host the stop, with a bonfire if weather permits), both also featuring The Dickens Carolers.
(Photo by Brandy DeWeese)
Then the Christmas Ship is off to many other areas on Puget Sound and local lakes for a busy four-week season – you can see the schedule here (and book a ride on the Christmas Ship or one of its “follow boats”).
Today is the first of three days for a West Seattle holiday-shopping tradition – the Native Art Market at the Duwamish Tribe Longhouse (4705 West Marginal Way SW). The art you’ll find there represents many tribes/nations – one of the art businesses there is Igmútȟaŋka Iháŋble (Lakota for Mountain Lion Dreams):
Neecee’s Ancestral Art is by Denise Emerson, Navajo and Skokomish:
The market continues until 5 pm today, and is open 10 am-5 pm Saturday and Sunday. If you’re driving, note that the Longhouse has increased parking options, plus a traffic signal to get safely across West Marginal if you park on the east side.
Family and friends will gather tonight and tomorrow to remember Jose M. Martinez Jr. Here’s the remembrance they are sharing with the community:
Our beloved, Jose Manuel Martinez Jr., was called home to heaven after a short, intense fight with cancer on Sunday, November 6, 2022 at 1:40 PM.
Jose transitioned peacefully at home, surrounded by his immediate family, who loves and misses him dearly, beyond measure.
Jose entered this world in April of 1949, the youngest child of ten, born to Aurora T. and Jose Manuel Martinez, Sr. Jose was born in Southern Texas and grew up in Sunnyside, Washington – the area that his family called home since relocating in the 1950s. He attended schools in Sunnyside and graduated from Sunnyside High School in 1967, with accolades including State and District High School wrestling championships, and his place among WIAA All-State Wrestlers. These accolades allowed Jose to attend college in Seattle on an athletic scholarship. Later in life, Jose worked twenty years in the construction industry as a journey-level carpenter and worked as a custom upholsterer for a short time until transitioning to working as a letter carrier with the US Postal Service. Jose retired in 2021, after a thirty-two-year career. He carried mail out of Seattle’s Interbay Station and he made many friends both in the office and out along his route. He was a Union Steward for NALC Branch 79 and caused many of his supervisors much consternation with his skill in advocating for workers’ rights.
Jose was an athlete most of his life and a dedicated coach throughout his adult life; first as a player-coach, playing softball next to his favorite teammate, Evonne. Later, as his children grew old enough to play sports, he coached each one of them in a variety of sports depending on the season – baseball, softball, basketball, wrestling. In later years, he dedicated his life to coaching youth soccer. As his children became adults and ventured out into their own lives, he began coaching other youth. He coached at the premier, middle school, and high school levels and was a Nationally licensed soccer coach with additional advanced training, Although he could have continued to coach for premier teams or charged significantly for his training services, his focus was in providing high-level training opportunities to youth and families that would not have been able to afford it otherwise, especially within the Latino and immigrant community. He also loved to work with young people who were not given the same opportunities by other coaches because of their lack of skill or because of limited abilities that made it challenging for them to make progress in a linear fashion. His patience and great respect for each player and his focus on skill development and not on his teams’ winning was what eventually led to his players becoming very skilled and he often had championship level teams as a result. In addition to teaching his players soccer skills, he also stressed to players the importance of always doing their best in whatever they attempted, including academics and maintaining their familial relationships. He was not just a coach- he was a mentor, a confidant, an advocate, and his teams became more like extensions of families that he led as their respected elder.
He was excited and proud that he was able to coach his young grandsons as they recently began their soccer careers.
Family was extremely important to Jose. For decades, he organized family gatherings at the family property where he and many others grew up, in order to continue the connections, and share the family history with the younger generations. Family was more than a biological connection to Jose. The family gatherings became huge events where all those who had become family came to share in the relationships that he strove to maintain. He worked hard to clean up the property and tried to provide everything for the family to be able to gather and share each other’s company. Another way that he maintained and shared family tradition was through his preparation of a pit barbacoa. He would stay up all night tending to the fire to make sure it didn’t go out so that it would be ready for the main family meal the next day.
He was very proud of his father’s involvement in the Mexican Revolution as a member of Los Dorados, an elite team of marksmen for Pancho Villa. His father’s background contributed to Jose’s own involvement in social justice issues such as working on farmworker justice by picketing, boycotting, and performing in improvisational theater as a member of El Teatro del Piojo from the University of Washington in the ’70s. His later years were concentrated on increasing social justice for the youth he coached through his attempts to increase access to opportunities in a variety of areas especially for academic advancement utilizing, at times, their athletics to gain that access.
Jose joins many loved ones who have transitioned to heaven before him, including his oldest son, Regino, from his first marriage. He joins his parents, Manuel and Aurora, and his siblings, sister Manuela, and brothers Regino, Refugio, Andres, Enrique, and Samuel. He is survived by his loving wife of 45 years, Evonne, and their children, Quetzal (Anjila), Quiauhxochitl, Quauhtli (Megan), and Quipachtli. His grandsons, Xopil, Itzli, Acalli, and Teocalli, granddaughters, Audi, Kaelin, Alyssa, and great-grandchildren, Kyrie and Ajlina, and sisters, Aurora, Maria (Lucio), and Virginia. He is also survived by numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, and other extended family and friends that feel a great loss with his death.
Celebration of Life Services: Please note that the family requests that, out of respect and consideration for family members at high risk of illness, that masks be worn while inside and that you not attend if ill. Saturday service will be livestreamed if you are unable to attend in person.
Rosary vigil: Friday, November 25, 2022, 5:30 PM at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, 7000 35th Ave SW.
Celebration of Life Mass: Saturday, November 26, 2022, 11:00 AM, also at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church.
Reception after mass in the parish gym, 3410 SW Myrtle St. Seattle, WA 98126 – you are welcome to bring a dish to share if you would like.
Burial of ashes will be scheduled for next year per Jose’s wishes.
In lieu of flowers, please make donations in Jose’s name to Beacon Hill Youth Soccer Club, 1719 South Lander, Seattle, WA 98144, https://beaconhillsoccerclub.org/donate-1
Please share memories, photos, & condolences with Jose’s Family on the Tribute Wall.
Arrangements entrusted to Emmick Family Funeral Home of West Seattle
(WSB publishes West Seattle obituaries and memorial announcements by request, free of charge. Please email the text, and a photo if available, to westseattleblog@gmail.com)
Before West Seattle’s brightest Christmas lights start shining, it takes two weeks of work to get ready. We stopped by the Menashe family’s Beach Drive home on Thanksgiving Eve to see how things were going. It was day 3 of decorating and many of the components were still in the back yard, awaiting their place in the annual display:
Josh Menashe pointed out some of what’s new this year – like this Husky:
And nutcrackers flanking the family’s front door:
Some new reindeer are joining the display this year:
As always, lots of lights comprise the display – which has been featured on national TV — from ground to roof to trees – and yes, many are power-saving LEDs:
All the Christmas classics, including candy canes and elves, will take their place:
The big reveal of the finished display is scheduled for one week from tonight – Thursday, December 1st. (You’ll see some testing before that if you happen by in the evening.) Santa and Mrs. Claus are scheduled to be there for photo ops the night of December 10th. And closer to Christmas – date not yet finalized – they’re hoping to have a visit from real reindeer.
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