Mom’s cookies are the best, said VC Reporter Editor Stephanie Kinnear, and Deputy Editor Stacey Wiebe noted that she was partial to the contest’s lemon bars. “We are the Citrus Capital of the World,” said Bobkiewicz.Although Councilman John Procter proclaimed himself partial to chocolate, he admitted that his favorite entries did not feature the ingredient.After a tie for first place, the judges were asked to sample the cookies again before announcing that 11-year-old Spencer Davis of Ventura had placed third with his “Indoor S’mores” and garnered a $25 Vons gift card. Cheryl Baudizzon of Santa Paula ranked second - a $50 Vons gift card - with “Berry Shortbread Dreams,” and “Lemon Twist Cookies” created by Estela Mareno of Oxnard took first place, a $100 Vons gift card.Bobkiewicz noted that the cookie judges had done double-duty by also judging the window dressing contest.Santa Paula staffer Rochelle Margolin said that the cookie contest had drawn 27 entries, and that area merchants donated prizes for a raffle held during the competition.“It’s interesting how different merchants say that people are coming in” their stores to comment on the window decorations and stay to do some shopping, said city consultant Jennifer Talt. Although only about two-dozen merchants made the window-decorating contest November deadline, up to 80 percent of stores in the downtown featured lights and other holiday decorations.
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(Top) Santa Claus hands Kenny Cummings Dott a Candy Cane. Santa made a special stop during the Downtown Holiday Community Celebration last Saturday. (Below) Isbell Middle School Choir entertains during the Holiday Celebration last Saturday. Photos by Brian D. Wilson |
Holiday Community Celebration
December 14, 2005
SP was beginning to look a lot like Christmas with Saturday events
Santa Paula News
By Peggy Kelly
Santa Paula TimesIt was beginning to look a lot like Christmas in Santa Paula on Saturday, with a variety of holiday themed events and activities that turned the Depot Gallery into a Winter Wonderland and Main Street into the perfect venue for seasonal singers and cookie lovers.The Santa Paula Society of the Arts turned the Depot Gallery into a shoppers’ paradise, with hundreds of holiday themed items ranging from paintings to cards to quilts to baked goods, even whimsical stocking stuffers such as the belly button lint brushes. “So many people have come in and shopped, we’re very pleased,” said Christmas Boutique Chairwoman Louise Saviers, and many holiday items will continue to be available at the SPSA Depot Gallery & Gift Shop.The Odd Fellows opened their historic building - celebrating its centennial on December 13 - for tours and the place to be for the second annual Cookie Contest, where bakers were asked to pit their fruit bars and other sugary delights against all comers.The winners of the Downtown Holiday Window Decorating Contest were also announced, with the family scene pictured at the Santa Paula Family Resource Center capturing first place and winning $500 sponsored by Centex Homes. The array of Christmas trees and decorations that lit up the Salvation Army Thrift Store window garnered a $200 second place prize, donated by 4 N Holdings. The festive use of coffee beans by Santa Paula Coffee Company cinched the third place $100 prize, sponsored by the Downtown Merchants Association.Singers entertained with holiday songs at Les Maland Plaza. The Presbyterian Church Chancel Choir, Isbell Middle School Condor Choir led by Donna Nelson and the Half-Notes hit just the right note with seasonal favorites.Upstairs at the Odd Fellows Clock Tower building people milled around the cookie table, where samples of the entries in the second annual competition beckoned from a variety of holiday themed plates. City Manager Wally Bobkiewicz was the master of ceremonies and asked judges about their own cookie experiences or opinions on the entries.“They were very hard to compare,” with recipes covering various ethic and geographical types with varying challenges for preparation, noted Councilwoman Mary Ann Krause.Police Chief Steve MacKinnon noted that it was his first time as a cookie contest judge, a “big honor....” Chief MacKinnon admitted that his cookie experience has largely been with “stenciled sugar cookies,” but Bobkiewicz pointed out that “In Santa Paula, it’s more complicated than that!”
