Despite Sunday’s dreary weather – or perhaps because of it – quite a few people wearing boots and rain hats braved the wet streets to attend the Village Holiday Celebration in Glen Ellen. Wagon rides, hot drinks, light snacks and photo ops with Santa Claus were the order of the day.The afternoon, which was organized by Kristi Jeppesen of the Glenelly Inn and other locals interest-ed in promoting both Glen Ellen and Kenwood, strad-dled Arnold Drive from north to south. From the park-ing lot at the Jack London Lodge, Neil Shepard and his Clydesdales were kept busy from noon to 2 p.m. ferry-ing wagon loads of carolers on short circuits around downtown. Along with Santa and a lone elf, riders of all ages ignored the light rain and belted out seasonal tunes with gusto.“We’re here for the kids,” said Terry White, who’s been handling the horses for Shepard for 20 years. “We thought the weather might be too bad, but it turned out okay. We’ve been sending out a full wagon (of 16 seats) every trip.”“Don’t forget the guitar player,” said Fred Martin, who loves seeing horses whether he gets to ride them or not. “I went on a ride and it was great,” said the 66-year-old an event planner from Mill Valley.Meanwhile, in a cozy room off the bar in the London Lodge, families were snacking on cookies and sipping hot cocoa while the children waited for their turn to tell Santa what they wanted for Christmas.As those festivities were beginning to wind down, The Chauvet and Showcase Gallery Open House got underway across the street. A fundraiser for Paws for Love, the afternoon featured Glenelly Gifts and treats like Scandinavian waffles.
Photo by Joseph Lemas
Just down the road, there was another afternoon Open House at Jack London Village. The complex of-fered a lot for kids – who could make birdfeeder or-naments for the Village tree and pose for photos with Santa – as well as for adults, who were more likely at-tracted by the chocolate, cheese and olive oil tastings. Across the street, Eric Ross Winery was sharing tastes of its excellent chardonnay, viognier, pinot noir and other wines.The Village Holiday Celebration concluded with a tree-lighting ceremony, accompanied by caroling, at 5 p.m., followed by a raffl e drawing for prizes supplied by the Beauty Sanctuary, the Bluegrass Bar & Grill, the Garden Court Café, Yeti, the Glen Ellen Village Mar-ket, Olive & Vine, sommelier Sandrew, the Glenelly Inn and Little Vineyards.
