Wallace Holiday Celebration set to 'light it up'

WALLACE — Holiday events across the Silver Valley have been dropping left and right due to the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the few still left standing is the annual Wallace Hometown Holiday Celebration set for Dec. 4-5 and the following weekend as well.

Put on by the Wallace Chamber of Commerce and the Historic Wallace Marketing Group, the event will once again be packed with holiday activities while still keeping people's health in mind.

Wallace Chamber of Commerce president and event organizer, Anita Price, explains that after a spirited discussion amongst her fellow organizers earlier this month, it was decided to press forward with a tweaked version of the celebration. While traditional favorites such as the tree lighting ceremony and the two parades remain, other fixtures of the event such as the Mr. and Ms. Snowflake competition and craft fair have been cut for safety reasons.

Price stresses that COVID precautions, such as mask wearing and social distancing, will be strongly recommended at all activities over the two weekends.

Everything kicks off on Friday, Dec. 4 at 11 a.m. with a Christmas-themed children's book reading at Todd's Bookstore & Coffee.

The day will then cap-off at 6 p.m. with the traditional tree lighting ceremony at the Northern Pacific Railroad Depot Museum. Immediately following the lighting, attendees will be invited to carol, hear the ringing of the NPDRM bell, take hayrides and go on a walk through the residential and commercial areas of town. While local churches will not be destinations on the walk this year due to COVID precautions, Price said that a fun new twists have been added.

"As we do that, we're going to choose the best house or business and they'll all get a prize," Price said. "We'll get all the people to vote and decide which one is the best for each street that we go on."

For the hayrides, traditionally run by Rayma and Jim Shields, park benches will be utilized to keep proper social distancing. This traditional holiday activity will be available from 5 to 7 p.m. on Dec. 4 and 5, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 11, and 5 to 7 p.m. on Dec. 12.

The next day, Santa Clause himself will make an appearance at the Sixth Street Theater at noon after catching a ride with Shoshone County Fire District No. 1 on a fire engine. Children and parents will be allowed into the theater in limited numbers through the front door, then will leave through the rear entrance once they meet Santa. Jolly Ol' Saint Nick will be on the theater stage from 12:30 to 2 p.m. and kids are invited to bring him letters.

On both Saturdays, Dec. 5 and 12, downtown Wallace businesses will once again be hosting their own family fun activities from 2 to 4 p.m. From making hair ribbons at Susie Q to fuzzy Christmas tree making at the Silver Moose, there looks to be no shortage of fun downtown.

"All those people are giving them either something to take home or having them come in and work on something," Price said.

Also on both Saturdays, family fun Christmas movies will be shown at the Sixth Street Theater at 2 and 4 p.m.

Jumping forward to the second event weekend, a children's book reading from 11 a.m. to noon on Dec. 11 at Todd's will once kick things off. Another reading session will be held the following day as well at the same time and place.

Later in the evening, the streets of downtown Wallace will be filled with all sorts of vehicles for the traditional Lighted Christmas Parade. Lineup will start at 5:30 p.m. near the Wallace Elks building and head out at 6 p.m. Price encourages anybody and everybody to join in on the parade, whether that means taking your own vehicle or walking.

On the last day of the celebration, dog owners are invited to dress their furry friends up and bring them to the Paw Parade at noon. Starting in the Brooks rear parking lot, participants will make their way downtown and eventually end at the NPRDM for contest judging.

To end the festivities, Santa will make one more appearance at the Sixth Street Theater from 12:30 to 2 p.m.

With the support of Dave Smith Motors and the Morbeck Foundation, the Wallace Hometown Holiday Celebration (which has had many names over the years) has been a staple of the town's winter activity lineup.

The NPRDM has always been the hub of the event, which is fitting because the celebration evolved from the building's iconic antique Christmas figures (also known as blow molds) that decorate its front lawn.

“We’ve done the blow molds forever, that’s been a big deal,” Price said. “But a couple years ago, I just thought, ‘why is it every year that we call it something different? It can just be the Retro Christmas because nobody else has this!’ I bet we could look everywhere and not find a whole town that was decorated in 250 blow molds!”

Many of the classic blow molds have been purchased over the years with grant funds from the Frank A. Morbeck Foundation.

For more information on the Wallace Hometown Holiday Celebration, call the Wallace Chamber of Commerce at 208-753-7151.