OCCA plans ‘It’s Christmas’

       “It's Christmas! In Historic Old Colorado City.”
       That's the new name for the annual holiday-themed promotion by the Old Colorado City Associates (OCCA) merchants group. The event will be expanded from the formerly named “Rocky Mountain Christ-mas,” according to Nancy Stovall, president of OCCA.
       “We're really going to do some fun things,” she said.
       Public activities will get underway Friday, Nov. 25, when Santa Claus makes the first of his visits to meet children in Bancroft Park's log cabin - a free opportunity offered on 16 days up to Christmas Eve (see schedule below).
       Also coming up soon are Breakfast with Santa Saturday, Dec. 3 and Santa's Old Town Workshop Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 3 and 4. The cost is $5 for adults, $3 children 10 and under.
       A salute to the military and their families is scheduled Dec. 10, marked by the Honor Tree lighting ceremony.
       Both the workshop and the Honor Tree were new last year and are being expanded this year.
       The workshop, which includes crafts, music and story-telling in a heated tent in Bancroft Park, will now be two days instead of one. Last year, it was a place for kids to go after Breakfast with Santa at the Meadow Muffins restaurant. Making it two days responds to those people who could not do it on the “breakfast” day but possibly on Sunday, Stovall said. In addition, there will be live music outside the tent and a carousel. The cost is $4 per child, with carousel rides costing a $1 each.
       The Honor Tree event at the 40-foot-tall spruce tree in the parking lot at 25th Street and Colorado Avenue is to have a stronger military presence this year, she said. Anticipated are representatives from both the Army and Air Force. The event will be made more special by having the lights strung up shortly before the event and not plugging them in until the ceremony that night, she added.
       A new feature this year for Santa in Bancroft Park will be the chance for people to pose for photos with their pets and Santa on Fridays in December.
       On Dec. 10 and 11, people bringing a new toy to Bancroft Park in the Toys for Tots drive will be rewarded with a free phone call from an area wireless company.
       All the events are free, except for the breakfast and the workshop.
       A benefit for shoppers will be the free parking on weekends in Old Colorado City. This applies to the on-street meters and to the off-street lots, where there is normally a three-hour limit.
       The historic commercial district started looking the part Nov. 19, when City Utilities volunteers decked out the street-light poles with garland lighting, and numerous merchants have begun decorating their windows or stringing up lights inside their stores.
       It's tradition for OCCA to have December promotional activities. Previously the package was known as “Rocky Mountain Christmas.” The name change puts the Old Colorado City message at the forefront.
       Here are the scheduled events with their dates and times:
       Friday, Nov. 25, Santa in the cabin, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.
       Saturday, Nov. 26, Santa in the cabin, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.
       Sunday, Nov. 27, Santa in the cabin, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.
       Friday, Dec. 2, Santa in the cabin, 3 p.m.-6 p.m.
       Saturday, Dec. 3, Breakfast with Santa at Meadow Muffins, 8:30-11 a.m.; Santa's Old Town Workshop in Bancroft Park, 9:30 a.m.-3 p.m.
       Sunday, Dec., 4, Santa's Old Town Workshop in Bancroft Park, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
       Friday, Dec. 9, Santa in the cabin, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
       Saturday, Dec. 10, Toys for Tots drive in Bancroft Park, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.; Santa in the cabin, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.; 5 p.m., Honor Tree lighting ceremony in the parking lot at the southwest corner of 25th and Colorado.
       Sunday, Dec. 11, Toys for Tots drive in Bancroft Park, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.; Santa in the cabin, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.
       Friday, Dec.16, Santa in the cabin, 3 p.m.-6 p.m.
       Saturday, Dec. 17, Santa in the cabin, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
       Sunday, Dec. 18, Santa in the cabin, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.
       Wednesday, Dec. 21, Santa in the cabin, noon-4 p.m.
       Thursday, Dec. 22, Santa in the cabin, noon-4 p.m.
       Friday, Dec. 23, Santa in the cabin, noon-4 p.m.
       Saturday, Dec. 24, Santa in the cabin, noon-4 p.m.
       For more information, call 633-6767.

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