Season’s Greetings from Florence

Finally, the weather is a bit more seasonal with a slight nip in the air.  Still no snow here in what we like to call the “Banana Belt,” but with all the lights and decorations the season’s spirit still soars.  The downtown merchants and the Chamber of Commerce present their holiday events and the Bell Tower Cultural Arts Center is hosting its annual members Christmas Show with lots of art for gifting and a concert or two.  December 10 is Second Saturday and time for the Second Saturday Gallery walk from 4 to 7 with many of the shops staying open late, too.  It’s my favorite time to wander shop to shop and gallery to gallery enjoying the wonderful lights, greenery, sales, and, best of all, sampling the array of Christmas cookies and goodies put out for the occasion.  If one looks carefully, one just might see Saint Nick, an elf or two or hear sleigh bells.

On December 17, you will find us celebrating Winter Solstice downtown on the street with hot cider, bonfires and caroling.

Christmas shopping in Florence bears no resemblance whatsoever to shopping at the big box stores or the malls.  There’s a little hustle and bustle, but it is the stress-free, fun kind.  This is the place to bring your friends or your mom for a holiday trip…shopping for unique gifts and treasures of Christmases past…

That reminds me.  Maybe some of our Christmases past are not memories we treasure for one reason or another.  Or maybe some of us are just Scrooges at heart, but it is possible to create new holiday memories and I’d wager it would be difficult to stay Scrooge for long sampling the offerings from our Florence Brewery or chowing down on a nice Quincy’s filet mignon.  Maybe we are dreading the reunion of a politically divided family, but a daytrip to the Antique Capital of Colorado can remind us that we were all kids once, our parents were kids, their parents were kids, long before a thought of politics entered our heads.  Wander in and out of the shops and the past, seeing what they wore back then, what tools and gadgets they used to shape their lives.

Folks take the holidays seriously here in Florence.  The shop windows are spectacular and the merchants are so serious that they even have a Pickle Contest.  Don’t know what this Christmas tradition is?  Come to Florence and find out…there are multiple prizes of beautiful gift baskets.  Find the Christmas Pickle in Florence!