By Sarah Schrock
This is the week to shop, learn, gaze and give!
To the tune of “Let it Snow:”
“When the weather outside is delightful, smoky air can be quite frightful.
With fog and sun ahead, brown hillsides are to dread.
And since we’ve no snow to play, come to Twisp and ride the sleigh!”
On Thursday (Dec. 6), Mistletoe Madness offers an evening of festive fun through the heart of town. Visit Glover Street for sleigh rides, caroling, bonfires and tree lighting. Make your way to Glover Street and Highway 20 businesses where you can shop after hours and sample local treats. The event is sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce and begins at 4 p.m.
Sing along to carols in the sleigh ride, then hop off at TwispWorks, where you can visit the studios at the campus’s Gear Up event and fill up on locally made gifts at the new Valley Goods Store. Hop back on and ride to see Santa at the Hank’s Harvest Food’s deli starting at 5 p.m. Next door, the Loup Loup Ski Shop always has amazing cookies! It’s a great night to come out and visit with friends and neighbors and support our local economy.
Meanwhile, just down the road at Aero Methow Rescue Service, the Northwest Avalanche Center/American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education is hosting a free avalanche awareness class at 6 p.m. The 90-minute session is an introductory class on how to identify avalanche dangers for any inexperienced backcountry traveler. Snowmobilers, snow-shoers, and skiers who intend to be casual visitors to backcountry travel, new, and young skiers are encouraged to attend.
Mark your calendars for Thursday, Dec. 13, for the Twisp library’s special program featuring Jack Nisbet and his new book “The Dreamer and the Doctor.” Nisbet is a Pacific Northwest author, historian and naturalist renowned for his intimate knowledge of the natural and cultural history of the interior Northwest. He will be debuting his biographical book about a pioneering family’s stories exploring the flora of the interior basin and delivering frontier medicine across the inland Northwest as a female rural physician.
Turn your eyes to the sky at night this week because we will have clear and dark skies as we approach the new moon on Thursday. You will be busy caroling at Mistletoe Madness and admiring the lights, but when you get home, turn off your Christmas lights and gaze upward. The high-pressure air will leave us with patchy fog in the mornings, but evenings should be crisp and cold and clear. This also means we can expect stagnant air and wood smoke in the air, so check your air advisory apps for air quality and stay tuned for burn bans.
Finally, keep your food donations coming in to local drop-offs. Neighbors Helping Neighbors will be sorting and packing boxes at Hank’s on Dec. 11-14. Area businesses, the schools, The Cove, Hank’s and Okanogan County Fire District 6 will all be taking donations.
