The Nugget Newspaper - Holidays in Sisters 2022 // 2022-12-07

Holidays in Sisters

This is the season when we remind ourselves of all we have to be thankful for: the natural beauty that surrounds us; the bonds of a strong community; friends and family who bring us joy. We are also fortunate to live in a community of creative makers, who provide food, gifts, and experiences that offer real meaning and lasting value. Meet them here…

Singing in the holidays...

The SweetEasy Co.,

The SweetEasy Co., serving BJ’s old-fashioned ice cream for over 40 years, welcomes everyone to come in and see all the goodies they have been creating. Their barista will be happy to whip up your favorite espresso drink, including eggnog latte, caramel macchiato, or even a peppermint candy cane milkshake! They bake every morning and have 6-8 different cookies, scones, and muffins, along with seasonal surprises. Now that the cold weather is here, it’s the perfect place to warm up inside and enjoy watching the snow fall, holiday shoppers stroll, or stop in after your family outing. They have sweets to delight everyone from your littlest darling to grandma and grandpa. Their chocolatiers are busier than ever making chocolate turtles, fudge, and homemade marshmallow rocky road to go with their hot cocoa, apple cider, caramel corn, and old-fashioned candy and truffles. They are open until 7 p.m. daily with everything you need to make your holiday season the sweetest ever.

Stitchin’ Post

The holidays are the perfect time to get our noses out of our screens and enjoy some hands-on activities with family and friends. Stitchin’ Post offers an array of opportunities to find the joy and satisfaction of handmade creativity. They offer kits that provide everything you need for a project — and they’re customized, so you really can’t find their like anywhere else.

Stitching and knitting can become lifelong joys — and the Stitchin’ Post kits are great for kids to get started in crafts.

Create your own Christmas cards with block printing. Activities like these offer family bonding time that is more precious than ever these days. Stitchin’ Post’s crafting and quilting materials are handpicked for quilters and knitters. While Stitchin’ Post continues to be a beloved destination quilt shop, it has evolved into a true maker’s mercantile, where you can find inspiration as well as the tools to make that inspiration into something real.

Sisters Coffee Co.

Sisters Coffee Co. is sharing their latest release: Holiday Cheer Blend — because we all need a little more cheer this holiday season.

Shop local for the holidays! Treat your loved ones to a coffee date with a Sisters Coffee Co. gift card, or choose from the new selection of mugs, cozy crewnecks, and Oregon-knit beanies.

You’ll also find a wide array of new coffee offerings that are hitting the Sisters Coffee Co. shelves this holiday season — the perfect stocking stuffers for the whole family to enjoy. Need a larger quantity for corporate gifts? Reach out to customercare@sisterscoffee. com for discount pricing on coffee orders of 50 bags or more.

Sisters Coffee Co. is a favorite from the North Pole to the South Pole. As always, you can order online and ship a little piece of Sisters to your loved ones far away this holiday season at www.sisterscoffee.com.

High Desert Chorale singers were accompanied by Adrienne Brown on viola. The group held two holiday performances for the Sisters community last weekend.

PHOTO BY KIT TOSELLO

Sisters dancers take stage

— By Olivia Nieto —

Sisters Dance Academy’s 12th annual holiday performance, the Winter Wonderland Ball, is set for Saturday, December 10, at Sisters High School.

Owner of the Academy, Lonnie Liddell, said, “Sisters Dance Academy (SDA) opened in 2009. We have held two shows a year, every year. I think it is an amazing way for the community to come together to support our youth and is also such a positive, joyful event.”

Each dance recital has had a different theme.

“This year’s theme was inspired by wanting to do something that captured the spirit of the season and wintertime… but is also about attending a fancy event like a ball, party, or fancy dinner!” Liddell said.

This family-owned academy has grown so much that they have to host two different shows in one day, simply to accommodate all the friends and families who want to attend. There is a matinee performance at 1 p.m., and the evening show begins at 6 p.m.

“It also gives the dancers more than one opportunity to attend and have people in the community come and give their support to the local dancers,” Liddell said.

All the dancers and instructors have been preparing and working hard to make it the best experience possible for the audience.

Kayla Williams is a dance teacher of 17 years.

“I love getting to see the dances come to completion on stage,” she said. “It’s the moment when the music, lights, costumes, and dance finally come together.”

Suttle Tea

BY OLIVIA NIETO

Previous student, now turned teacher, Olivia Bertagna, says, “Being able to showcase to the community what we’ve been working on is amazing.”

The Academy is a place of sweat, laughter, and music, and both dancers and teachers love it.

“It’s always so fun, sometimes stressful, but even when you only have one dance it’s really nice to just get involved,” said dancer Gracie Fendall.

Instructor Shannon Abero said, “It has been a joy to work with all of the staff, the teachers, but most of all the students at SDA the past 10 years!”

With 32 different dances being performed and nearly 250 dancers, the Winter Wonderland Ball is certain to be a magical time. Tickets are on sale on the Sisters Dance Academy website, www.danceinsisters.com.

“There’s something historically hopeful and peacebringing about tea, and we love seeing more and more people discover this every day,” says Kit Tosello, co-owner with her husband, Garth, of Suttle Tea.

Now in its eighth year, Suttle Tea occupies a niche in the tea world right here in Sisters—designing, sourcing, and blending deliciously unique artisan teas. “We handblend our teas in small batches, using ethically sourced and organic ingredients,” says Tosello.

Suttle Tea offers around 40 blends, including seasonal favorites. Right now ’tis the season for Christmas in Sisters, a black tea embellished with citrus and cardamom. And these Sisters products now make their way to customers and retail partners all over the States.

Creativity flows from their tea-blending room, filled with spices, florals, and fruits. They’ve just launched a line of small-batch soy candles scented to match their teas—the first inspired by the flavor of their bestselling tea blend, Lavender Mint Dark Chocolate. The shop also boasts a newly expanded gift section, and a warm and welcoming space to sip and shop!

Gypsy Wind Clothing

Gypsy Wind offers something of great value to anyone looking to put checkmarks on their Christmas list — mistake-proof gift-giving.

At Gypsy Wind, Janet Kronemeyer offers one-size-fits-all, easy shopping with unique items that have real personality and flair: handbags, scarves, jackets, and Kronemeyer’s original-design shawl. This is fun, unique, and affordable clothing that looks great, feels great, and fits into any budget. Most of the store is in the $35-$59 range. Clothing fits size small to 3X.

If you or someone on your list is escaping the Sisters Country winter and heading somewhere warm this winter, Gypsy Wind has a specialty in resort and travel wear that Kronemeyer describes as “easy-wear comfort clothing,” great for travel. She has created a backroom rack devoted to resort and travel wear.

PHOTO

An early American Christmas

— By Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief —

Christmas is a time for nostalgia. We look back fondly on our own childhood memories — and sometimes we project ourselves back to an early, purportedly simpler time when things were better in our fair land.

But if we’re looking for a quaint snowglobe scene in an early American Christmas, we’re looking in the wrong place.

In the years of America’s founding, Christmas wasn’t that big of a deal — certainly not the cen terpiece holiday we celebrate today. In Puritan colonial New England, celebrating Christmas at all was frowned upon.

If the Pilgrims observed the day at all, it was a solemn moment of spiritual contempla tion — certainly not any kind of celebration. Christmas actually represented everything the Puritans were trying to “purify” out of the English church.

“Puritans believed Christmas was basically just a pagan custom that the Catholics took over without any biblical basis for it,” writes Stephen Nissenbaum in “The Battle for Christmas.” “The holiday had everything to do with the time of year, the solstice, and Saturnalia and nothing to do with Christianity.”

When non-Puritan settlers started arriv ing in the Plymouth Colony — which they did very shortly after the Mayflower landing — the Pilgrim Fathers felt a need to clamp down on any signs of fun. Governor William Bradford gave some non-Puritan workers the go-ahead to take a day away from their labors to celebrate the hol iday, which he apparently thought they would do quietly at home. Imagine his consternation when he found them out in the street playing. Actually, you don’t have to imagine it — he wrote about it in “On Plimoth Plantation.” Note that the gov ernor refers to himself in the third person. As one does:

“So he led-away the rest and left them; but when they came home at noon from their work, he found them in the street at play, openly; some pitching the barr and some at stoole-ball, and such like sports… So he went to them, and took away their implements, and told them that was against his conscience, that they should play and others work. If they made the keeping of it matter of devotion, let them keep their houses, but there should be no gaming or revelling in the streets.”

Governor William Bradford — Colonial American Grinch.

In 1659, Massachusetts formally banned Christmas.

“For preventing disorders arising in several places within this jurisdiction, by reason of some still observing such festivals as were supersti tiously kept in other countries, to the great dis honor of God and offence of others, it is there fore ordered by this Court and the authority thereof, that whosoever shall be found observing any such day as Christmas or the like, either by forbearing of labor, feasting, or any other way, upon such accountants as aforesaid, every person so offending shall pay of every such offence five shillings, as a fine to the county.”

Now, to be fair, it should be understood that the Puritans didn’t send out the jack-booted Christmas police to kick in doors in search of people celebrating. They were just trying to keep the fun off the street. And, it must be admitted that in the English world of the 17th century, “fun” was often alcohol-soaked and exceedingly rowdy, so they had their reasons, beyond their distaste for pagan goings-on.

But it wasn’t exactly all “Joy to the World” in colonial New England.

Things were considerably looser in the south ern colonies, at least in the Tidewater, dominated by the Anglican Church. Christmas Day wasn’t a special focal point — the Anglican gentry would make the social rounds of dances and fox hunts for the whole 12 Days of Christmas. The Epiphany on January 6, commonly called “Twelfth Night,” was particularly celebratory. On that night, it was traditional to consume a Great Cake or “King’s Cake.” There’s apparently a recipe for Great Cake in Martha Washington’s papers (https://www.mountvernon.org/inn/ recipes/article/great-cake/).

As prominent members of society, George and Martha Washington kept a pretty lively Christmas. This was enabled by enslaved people. The household “staff” — cooks, housemaids, waiters, and the like —  worked overtime to keep Mount Vernon in food and libation and shipshape for multitudes of guests. Elsewhere on the plantation, enslaved people who worked the fields might expect a couple of days rest around Christmas.

The celebrations of the season were boozy, with fortified Madeira wine a particular favorite. George Washington adopted a favorite Dutch holiday libation called Cherry Bounce, described in the papers of Mount Vernon. (Note that the

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proofreader has not over-indulged in said libation and fallen asleep — the spelling idiosyncra sies are typical of the 18th Century):

To Make Excellent Cherry Bounce —  Extract the juice of 20 pounds well ripend mor rella cherrys

Add to this 10 quarts of old french brandy and sweeten it with white sugar to your taste—To 5 Gallons of this mixture add one ounce of spice such as cinnamon, cloves and Nutmegs of each an Equal quantity slightly bruisd and a pint and half of cherry kirnels that have been gently broken in a mortar — After the liquor has fermented let it stand close-stoped for a month or six weeks then bottle it remembering to put a lump of Loaf Sugar into each bottle.

You can find a modern recipe for Cherry Bounce at https://www.mountvernon.org/inn/ recipes/article/cherry-bounce.

It was common practice to celebrate the holiday with musket and cannon fire, which is re-created with the Firing of the Christmas Cannons at Colonial Williamsburg.

The seafaring folk of colonial America also sought to celebrate Christmas, though ship board conditions often meant Christmas dinner was sparse and pretty gross. Let’s just say that nobody in Sisters Country would countenance a sailor’s diet in the 17th and 18th centuries for their dog.

Edward Barlow in “Barlow’s Journal of his Life at Sea in King’s Ships, East and West Indiamen & Other Merchantman From 1659 to 1703,” writes about Christmas 1676:

“Having put all our goods on shore that we were to deliver [to Marseilles], we walked ashore being Christmas, to take our recreation and see all about the town, which is a place of very

good buildings and a pretty large town or city, where all things are very plentiful, both for meat and drink. They have a very good wine of sev eral sorts and very cheap, especially a red wine, which is a king of wine much like to claret, only a clearer red and better wine to drink.”

Yes, sailors did tend to fixate on the holiday libations.

Honest seamen were not the only ones celebrating. Pirates might have been “really bad eggs,” but contrary to mythology, most of them consid ered themselves Christians — of a sort — and sought to celebrate the Nativity. In proper pirate fashion, of course.

Captain Charles Johnson writes about Captain Calico Jack Rackham’s crew in “The General History of the Most Notorious Pirates”: “After this Cruize, they went into a small Island and cleaned, and spent their Christmas ashore, drinking and carousing as long as they had any Liquor left, and then went to Sea again for more, where they succeeded but too well, though they took no extraordinary Prize, for above two Months...”

Sometimes folks had to work on Christmas. For example, on Christmas Night, 1776, our man George Washington led a ragged remnant of the beaten and battered Continental Army across the Delaware River to Trenton, New Jersey, where the next morning they fell upon a garrison of German Hessian mercenaries, a bit worse for wear from their own Germanic cele brations. The Continentals routed the Hessians and killed or captured almost the entire force. It was a mighty holiday present to hand to the American people, for it kept the struggle for independence alive.

Merry Christmas.

Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show

The Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show (SOQS) is one of Sisters’ most beloved institutions - a gathering of a tribe of creative minds and hands from across the world. Belonging to this tribe is a meaningful expression of artistic community and fellowship. The 48th Annual Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show will take place on Saturday, July 8, 2023.

Give the special quilter in your life the gift of friendship. Enroll them as a Friend of the Show today! As Friends of the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show, your friends and loved ones will have access to exclusive SOQS programs. And because every donation directly supports SOQS programs, exhibitions, scholarships, and the world-renowned Quilt Show, your generosity will make our community a little brighter.

Also available: A gift or memorial donation is a unique way to honor an extraordinary person who has touched your life. SOQS merchandise…shirts, totes, hats, baby onesies, and mugs…make great gifts, too, and can be ordered online at soqs.org/soqs-merchandise. Please visit SOQS.org or call 541-549-0989.

Jazz Choir offers Holiday Showcase

— By Olivia Nieto —

As the holiday season approaches, so does the Sisters School District Holiday Showcase. The performance will be hosted by the Sisters High School Jazz Choir and is set for this Thursday, December 8, at 7 p.m. at Sisters High School auditorium.

“The holiday showcase is an opportunity for the high school, middle school, and elementary school music programs to share holiday music with the community,” said Choir Director Rick Johnson.

The variety of acts in the Holiday Showcase highlights performances from all over Sisters.

“This will be the only concert this year that will present songs from every school in the School District. It will be incredible to hear the elementary choir, the middle school choir, and the high school bands and choirs all in one night!” Johnson said.

Ian Landon, a freshman trumpet player said, “I just like how even though each parent comes to see their kid’s performance, they end up experiencing everybody else who performs too.”

Ellie Barbieri, the Sisters Elementary music teacher, will introduce third- and fourth-grade vocalists, the “Outlaw Singers.”

“It is always amazing to watch these children work so hard. It feels incredibly

special to be performing with the community at the high school alongside unparalleled musical facility,” she said.

This will be the first year the concert is completely open to the public since COVID, when they instead held an online concert to battle the production restrictions.

“We are very happy to bring the Holiday Showcase back to the high school auditorium and invite the community to come and enjoy it,” Johnson said.

Not only will there be band and choir contributions; local acts are taking part as well. Small bands, individual singers, and more are all joining in on the holiday festivities.

The Sisters Dance Academy is continuing a tradition and partaking in the showcase.

“Dance is just another form of art, similar to band and choir,” said Colby Roberts, a high school dancer participating in the routines. “I just really like performing.”

The event is free; however, a $5 donation to support all of the work being put in is encouraged. For anybody who doesn’t have plans, it’s a highly enjoyable experience. Treats will also be available for purchase. Auditorium doors open at 6:45 p.m.

Canyon Creek Pottery

If shopping local — and handmade — means something to you, a gift from Canyon Creek Pottery is as local and handcrafted as it gets.

For 17+ years, Ken Merrill has been at work in his pottery studio and adjoining gallery creating one-of-a-kind functional art.

Come to Canyon Creek for beautiful, handmade items… Mugs for your special cup of coffee. A pie plate for the baker in the house. A soup tureen. Candle-holders to spice up your holiday décor. Colorful rectangular platters for Santa’s cookies.

Ken has been a potter since 1983, and opened his pottery studio in Sisters in 1998. He has won renown for his beautiful, functional handmade pottery. Each piece is handthrown on a potter’s wheel, then fired in a kiln to 2,400 degrees, where it becomes stoneware.

All of Ken’s pottery is made of the finest clays available and makes a gift that gives each time it is used.

Fika Sisters Coffeehouse

Fika Sisters Coffeehouse (FIKA) welcomes you to come to the shop and enjoy your FIKA with friends, surrounded by traditional holiday decor, while sipping on delicious holiday drinks. Enjoy their annual Gingerbread Swedish Gala Horses decorating boxes with cookies, toppings, and frosting, available daily, for you to decorate in shop or at home for a great family activity.

FIKA can also be taken home as seasonal bread loaves, scones, and quiche, which can be preordered anytime throughout December. And pick up a box of French chocolate truffles to take with you to your holiday parties.

This year they are also offering a special holiday dessert to enjoy with holiday meals… Buche de Noel…a cocoa genoise cake filled with vanilla ganache and a raspberry jam. Preorders begin in December for pickup on December 24.

FIKA’s second Circle of Giving fundraiser is set up like a giving tree throughout December, supporting local nonprofits such as Circle of Friends, Family Access Network, Sisters Cold Weather Shelter, Furry Friends Foundation, and Bethlehem Inn.

FIKA wishes everyone “God Jul” this season. They love serving you!