Christmas Music!

Last night, Dick and I headed over to the Veteran’s Building for a Christmas concert. “Deck the Halls. . . fa la la la la. . .” Yep. We got to sing a bunch of first verses worth of Christmas carols with the Watsonville Community Band, the members all decked in their green and gold uniforms. It’s nice to know that there is an outlet for once-upon-a-time high school band members. One of the trumpet players was my seventh grade music appreciation teacher, who continues to teach and lead middle school musicians into one amazing marching band year after year.

“We are the Watsonville Community Band,” announced Eugene Smith, the conductor, at the beginning of the night. “But we are not a Watsonville band.” The members hale from various cities in Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Monterey, and San Benito counties, including Watsonville, Salinas, Ben Lomond, Gilroy, and Hollister.

The Watsonville Community Band is one of the few adult community bands in the nation. It has been around since 1947! According to the Christmas program, anyone who plays (or played) a band instrument is welcome to join. The band performs yearly concerts, such as its Christmas Concert series, as well as participates in marching parades. Their performances are always free.

At last night’s concert, the band performed a selection of pieces, from an Andy Williams song, “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” to the quietly moving “Ave Maria.” They also played the “March of the Women Marines,” which was composed in 1943 for the Women Reserve band. That piece was a head bouncer and toe tapper, but the coolest thing about it is the fact that one of the members of the band was part of the original Women Reserve band.

The “Night Before Christmas” was read by the conductor, surrounded by many of the tiny children in the audience. Snap. Flash. Snap. Flash. Snap. Yep, the sound and blur of a photo op for parents and grandparents who smilingly crept up to candidly catch their kiddies. For the last piece, the audience stood and sang joyously loud (OK maybe some of us) with the band, after which Santa Claus popped out to give the kids candy cane sticks.

The concert was an hour long, and for an hour, I felt a sense of the warmth of small-town community. The Watsonville Community Band will be back to put on a spring concert for the town. I’m looking forward to it.

In the mean while, here are still a few more Christmas concerts in the county to check out:

• 12/10: Elementary School Holiday Concert, 7 pm, Rancho San Justo
• 12/10: Oriana Chorale Christmas Concert, 7:30 pm, Mission San Juan Bautista
• 12/11: Scarlet Regiment Band Holiday Concert, 7 pm, San Benito High School Auditorium
  
• 12/18: Rancho-Maze Band Holiday Concert, 7:30 pm. Rancho San Justo
  

Christmas singing cheer can also be found at these events:

• 12/12: Trees of Light, 5:30 pm, Veteran’s Building
• 12/13: Annual Christmas Caroling and Candlelight Walk, San Juan Bautista

Christmas 2008
Hwy 25, Hollister, California

Hollister and Bikers

Have you ever seen the movie The Wild One? A young Marlon Brando plays an "outlaw" biker named Johnny. He scoffs at trophy-winning bikers, yet goes through much of the movie clasping a stolen biker trophy in the same way that Linus clings to his blanket. Of course, Johnny could've been doing so facetiously because his character was portrayed as a misunderstood guy after all. That's how I interpreted it.

The Wild One was kinda based or somewhat inspired on an incident that took place in Hollister in 1947 over the July 4th weekend. It was a motorcycle rally that got out of hand. I would think it was a no brainer that some fights were bound to take place when 4,000 bikers rolled into town. They were there to enjoy some motorcycle races and to relax and party. Remember: It was a three-day Fourth of July weekend. The police force was few in number, but they had it under control. After all, about .02% of the attendants were arrested and charged with misdemeanors. Hullo. Nothing outlaw-ish about that.

Still, if you're a journalist, you can spin a pretty gol darn story. And, the newspaper reporters did just that. What probably made that Fourth of July incident famous was the infamous spread of staged photos in Life magazine. I'm not gonna go into the five W's of the event. You can click on these links for the history:

• Hollister Riot
• The 1947 Gypsy Tour in Hollister (You'll find links to interviews with locals who were there as well as to SF Chronicle articles.)
  

In 1997, Hollister merchants, the city council, or maybe both together, decided to hold a Fourth of July Independence Motorcycle Rally to honor the event's 50th anniversary. Since then, the rally has become an annual event. Next year's event is not sanctioned by the City because it lost taxpayers' money big time. But, you never know.

I have no idea what the annual event celebrates. Is it the romantic image of an outlaw biker played by Marlon Brando, the misdemeanor arrests of a bunch of bikers, or what? Could be why Hollister rarely makes any money off the hundreds of thousands of people who come into town each year for three days. Bad karma. But, suppose we were to celebrate the idea of WWII Vets letting off steam after a hard week of work, because that was what many of those 4,000 bikers were. It's a thought. Anyway, enjoy the trailer for The Wild One.

Christmas Bazaars, Boutiques, and Etc.

It's the season for Christmas Bazaars, Boutiques, Crafts Fairs, Open Houses, and Etc. You can definitely count on finding a bunch of local ones in Hollister and abouts. Some are fundraisers, while others are not. Here's a list of some that are happening this week.

• 12/3: Winter Magic Bazaar and Luncheon, Hazel Hawkins Hospital Auxiliary, Veteran’s Memorial Building
  
• 12/3: Ceramics Sale, Gavilan College, Gilroy
  
• 12/6: Cerra Vista School Holiday Boutique
  
• 12/6: Southside School Holiday Bazaar
  
• 12/6: Holiday Craft Fair, Ladies Auxiliary VFW 9242, 10 am to 4 pm, Veterans Memorial Building
  
• 12/6: Bertuccio’s Open House
  
• 12/6: Holiday Open Studios Tour, Aromas
  

The Christmas Parade

My only complaint about last night's parade: I wished the evening air was cooler and crisper so it felt more like winter (and Santa) was a coming. ☺

We missed the first few floats, but we were fortunate to be there to see a mutt of a terrier steal the show away from the Sheriff’s float. The little dog stubbornly sat in the middle of the street or pranced precariously close to and around the sheriff’s car as it slooooooowly drove along, with the Grinch hanging out of its back window.


He was a dog that would not be caught, at least right away. At one point, he was surrounded by several people. The dog knew how to stop and go. He had them all in his hands. He had all of us who were hanging around on that that block in his hands as well. When we heard clapping and hurrahing at the end of the block, we knew the chap was caught.


The theme for the parade was “All I Want for Christmas....” I wouldn’t mind having that parade-stopping dog.

Annual Lights On Celebration and Parade

Is it just me, or are Christmas decorations going up even sooner?

I noticed the green garlands stretched above San Benito Street on Sunday morning. As we sped by the lawn in front of the parking garage, I saw that Santa’s Village was up as well. The Hollister Downtown Association is getting ready!

By this Saturday evening, November 29, downtown Hollister will be transformed for the annual “Lights on Celebration.” The trees will be lit along the main street, between South and Forth Streets, and the street will be lined with people as well to watch the parade of floats and cars and people waving and smiling from them. And, of course, bringing up the rear of the parade will be Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus.

The theme for this year’s parade is “All I Want for Christmas.” It will start at 5:30. There’ll be live entertainment happening before and after the parade, too. Stores will be also be open for the browsing and buying.

For me, the best part about the night is hanging out after the parade. After the last float goes by, people pile out from the sidewalks into the center of the street. Folks walk up and down the closed street, checking out the music, greeting acquaintances, and yakking and laughing it up with friends and family. That's worth the Christmas decorations being put up seemingly earlier each year.

Some links to check out about the event:

• 2008 Lights On Celebration
• 2007 Lights-On Parade and Concert with Rancho-Maze Band
• Trees of Life
• Hollister Downtown Association