LIVERMORE — Attendance was fantastic despite a power outage and enough rain to cause muddy conditions Saturday, Dec. 3, during the fifth annual Olde Fashioned Christmas held at Boothby’s Orchard and Farm Winery in Livermore.
Power was lost for a time in Livermore Saturday morning, leaving organizers scrambling to figure out alternatives, Bonnie Brown of Livermore said Sunday afternoon. “The first few people were looking at trees with flashlights,” she noted. “It was very old fashioned, very humbling too. The vibes yesterday were fantastic.”
“It was wonderful,” Bonnie’s husband Mark Brown said. The couple own Shaky Barn Farm Gardens.
There was torrential rain, no power and enough mud to cause some cars to get stuck, Bonnie Brown said. Hot chocolate was heated on a wood stove, she noted.
Using imitation votive candles in the barn and moving parking areas were other ways organizers dealt with the situation.
“Everybody had the best time,” Bonnie stated. “It was so nice to see. We had a full house all day. They didn’t care.”
The festival is organized by the Jay-Livermore-Livermore Falls Chamber of Commerce. Businesses and organizations in the area pay to sponsor a tree, decorate it and choose a charity to support. Raffle tickets are then sold with the winners drawn at the end of the festival.
New this year, a few tabletop trees and wreaths were also available in the raffle. Hot chocolate and cookies could be had for a donation, Santa visited Saturday afternoon and a craft fair was set up in the guest house throughout the festival.
Bonnie also shared a story she was told by Christine Fournier, the chamber’s administrative director, which points out that “Christmas is not just for kids.” Fournier spoke of an older gentleman who comes to the festival every year to get his Christmas, Bonnie noted. “He never had Christmas celebrated in his home,” she stated. “You always think Christmas is for kids, but it is so much more.”
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