Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Halloween, Christmas Events Are Scheduled

It's time to dress up for the Third Annual Prescott-Nevada County Chamber of Commerce Halloween contest.

Mary Godwin, executive director of the Chamber, said the contest has been successful the past two years and those who have participated have had fun doing it. The idea, she continued, is to have fun while promoting community activities.

The contest is open to all business and organizations, and is free to enter. However, those planning to be involved should call the Chamber by Thursday, Oct. 28, to enter.

Out-of-town judges will be used again this year to pick the winner of the contest.

First prize will be a cool $20 cash, while second place nets $15 and the third place finisher takes home $10.

From Halloween the Chamber goes directly to Christmas, full steam ahead with no detours.

The Third Annual Chamber Christmas Parade will be held Thursday, Dec. 9, at 6 p.m..

This year's theme is "Christmas Memories Into the Millennium."

Those planning to enter a float or be in another division have until Dec. 3 to let the Chamber know.

The floats will follow the same route as last year, lining up at 4:45 p.m. at NAPA to journey to the Nevada County Courthouse, where Christmas on the Square will be held immediately thereafter.

However, all floats must be registered by 3:30 p.m. the day of the parade, as they will be judged before the parade begins. This, Godwin said, should speed things up considerably.

There are two iron-clad rules etched in stone for the floats  NO SANTAS. The only float a Santa will be riding on is the Chamber's grand finale' entry.

Any other float with a Santa will either have to drop out or remove everyone's favorite elf.

The other rule is no candy is to be thrown from vehicles to bystanders.

There will be five finishers in the float division, with the winner taking home $125. Second place nets $100, with the show float getting $75. There is a $50 check waiting for the fourth place float, with the fifth place entry getting $25.

Only the winner will receive anything for the other divisions. These include the best decorated vehicle, best decorated animal costumer, best decorated bicycle and best decorated All-terrain vehicle.

The winner for the best decorated vehicle will get $25, while the other divisional winners will receive $10 each.

As the parade finishes reaches its conclusion at the courthouse, Christmas on the Square will begin.

Those who want can visit with St. Nick and/or get their picture taken with him.

Food vendors will be on hand to provide refreshments to the patrons gathered to enjoy the entertainment.

For the second year in a row, there will be a ping-pong ball drop, with specially marked balls offering discounts to local businesses.

This will also be when the winners of the various contests will be announced. These include the parade winners, best decorated window contest, and the ever-popular, home decorating contest winners.

For more information, or to enter the Chamber's contests, call 887-2616.