Holiday treats and trees, tiny and tall

What recession? Not in La Conner last weekend. A slew of activities started the holiday festivities – and the season's spending.

The Christmas season began 6:30 p.m. Friday night, when all doors opened at the newly-built La Conner Swinomish Library, letting in a crowd of waiting bidders for the Tiny Tree auction. At 6:45, after remarks from Susan Macek, La Conner Library Foundation director, and library Director Jean Markert, one "Let the auction begin!" sent the audience to the bidding tables.

For the next hour, families and friends circled, studying the 15 specially-ornamented trees and their bidding lists to see if they had to raise their donation. But despite that underlying air of competition, it was an hour of kind community.

In the room of more than fifty people talking about most things except Christmas trees, the sense was palpable that there was really no auction at all; that instead a few dozen townspeople were simply having Christmas early and spending the evening as the biggest family in any given room in Skagit. Or, perhaps it was the wine by the glass.

By 7:30 p.m., over 60 bids had been placed – at an estimated value of $3,933. As bidding began to close, some, such as Trish Anderson, stood beside their chosen tree to ensure they won at any cost. At 7:39 p.m., Kevin Paul took the mic to say with the voice of an old crooner, "Two minute warning, people. Two minute warning." The big room chuckled.

The night was over fifteen minutes later, as people started leaving or waiting in line to make payment. One young lady, Finley Hancock, voiced her businesslike disappointment at failing to acquire both of the trees she was after, although she did look happy with her win.

The room was full of final conversations as the crowd dwindled. Then, without prompt or announcement, Paul took up the microphone again. In the tired and quiet end of December's first Christmas, in that old crooner voice, he started into an acapella rendition of "Silent Night." After the first lines a small group joined him. At the end of the first chorus, Paul turned off the microphone and put it back down on the front desk.

"It was an amazing night in our new library," Macek said. "I'm amazed at the number of people who came out to see it."

The next morning was Christmas anew at the La Conner Rotary pancake breakfast in Maple Hall. The breakfast is a longstanding town tradition, dating back over forty years. Once a senior class fundraiser, the event is now run by the La Conner Rotary, whose volunteers started before 7 a.m. and were still working at noon. "Rotary is all about service," said Corrin Hamburg.

It showed. All morning long, volunteers of all ages were in and out of the kitchen, cooking, cleaning, clearing tables. The breakfast itself was complete with the promised pancakes, scrambled eggs, sausages and a hot chocolate station. And coffee, of course.

Santa Claus sat onstage all morning, meeting children and hearing their Christmas wishes. Landon, Harper and Wyatt Stevens asked for, respectively, a virtual reality headset, an alcohol marker set and an outdoor basketball. Owen Navarrete, said he would ask for "shoes" (white Nike Air Forces). Parents and grandparents snapped photos.

John Milnor was told by Santa that the La Conner children are extra good this year and their parents especially polite.

Meanwhile at the adjacent craft fair, benefiting local service clubs, vendors sat at a dozen tables in three rooms on both floors, waiting to sell their wares; from Eileen Williams' hand-embroidered towels to Cathy Baker's hand-painted oyster shells to the Soroptimists' table of baked goods. Most vendors agreed that the morning was slow, but others such as Julie Jones enthusiastically said that everything had gone really well. Marylyn Johnson declared: "The crowd has been quieter, but no less enthusiastic. It's a jolly good time."

Adam McGarity, the Club's president, said that this year saw higher attendance than it did in years before COVID, with over 125 meals served. Members of a newly organized Skagit Rotaract Club assisted. This is a Rotary supported service organization for individuals; often young professionals or college students; between ages 18 and about 35. Rotaract volunteers were Morgan Elton, Betsy Anorbe, Corrin Hamburg, Heather Guiterrez and Evan Rodriguez.

La Conner High School volunteers were again the server team. Rotary thanks Andrew Villard, Natalie Koch, Ray Barker, Hallie Walls, Thomas Kitchen and Emily Smith.

The Santa Breakfast is not a fundraiser, it is a Rotary Club of La Conner community service event. Breakfast fees are structured to cover costs.

And more

The Pacific Northwest Quilt & Fiber Arts Museum, in its 25th year, offered its annual open house with free admission for folks to find holiday decorations throughout the Mansion, hot cider and cookies. Down on South First Street the Museum of Northwest Art also provided treats, including wine, for its holiday open house centered in its gift shop.

At 1 p.m. volunteer students from the middle and high school music program started playing and singing Christmas Carols at the entrance to Gilkey Square, near Morris Street. They were perfectly positioned when nattily dressed English town crier Ernie Gomez, complete with bell and cane, led the Northwest Junior Pipe Band, not from Edmunds, but from the plaza at Maple Hall. The five bagpipers and four drummers marched up the middle of First Street.

And that is how you draw 50 people, not all tourists, to Gilkey Square on a sunny but cold Saturday afternoon. They were joined by a half dozen belles dressed in Edwardian – that's after 1901 – finery. Called into creative existence by Gina Torpey of Enchanted Locks Hair Design, with assistance from Stompin' Grounds Kim Broadhead, both were joined in costume by their compatriots, Jasmine Dillard and Jennifer Goellner, among them.

This OPAL (Organized Patrons Advancing La Conner) project included an elf hunt and other children's games at Gilkey Square Saturday and music in Maple Hall Sunday, starting with the Shelter Bay Chorus. The Pipe Band might have returned and perhaps Santa did, too.

All that with holiday markets at the La Conner Pub & Eatery and the Vinery at Christianson's Nursery Sunday. And there are still 17 shopping days till Christmas.