What's happening around Carson City on Saturday, Dec. 8

You better watch out, you better not cry, you better not pout, I'm telling you why: Because Santa Claus is coming to Carson City!

The jolly man in the big red suit will make an appearance aboard the annual Santa Train starting this weekend and over the next three at the Nevada State Railroad Museum, as well as in the Olde Time Christmas Parade through downtown Carson City Saturday.

Saint Nick will also be sitting for pictures with four-legged kids at Benson's Feed. And he resumes his usual spot at the Carson Mall this weekend, too. Chances are, Father Christmas has got his eye on you, so be good for goodness sake!

Do you have an event or happening you'd like people to know about? Tell us about it by clicking here, filling out the details and we'll tell Carson City area readers about your event or happening. You can also submit the relevant information, also known as the "5Ws and How” to editor@carsonow.org.

Here is what's happening around Carson City on Saturday, Dec. 8:

— 34th annual Santa Train at the Nevada State Railroad Museum, 2180 S. Carson Street in Carson City. The train runs Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. for three weekends: Dec. 8-9, Dec. 15-16 and Dec. 22-23. The Santa Train leaves Wabuska Station every 30 minutes. Tickets are $5 for all riders. Children 2 and younger who sit in an adult’s lap are free. Advance tickets are available online at https://bit.ly/2Oj5dQs

— Under the Skin: Tattoo Art showing at Western Nevada College. Art from Northern Nevada and Northern California tattoo artists are featured in the latest exhibit at Western Nevada College’s (WNC) Main Gallery. The “Under the Skin: Tattoo Art” exhibit includes 50 pieces of art — many of which are available for purchase. Mediums include oil, watercolor, acrylic, ink and 3D pieces. The Main Gallery is located in WNC’s Bristlecone Building. The gallery is open Saturdays, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

— Holiday Craft Fair at the Carson Mall. The Carson Mall Craft Fair includes local crafts, toys, clothes, Santa and more! The Fair will run until Christmas Eve from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Santa and his elves will be joining the fair inside the Carson Mall for meet and greets and pictures on Saturdays and Sundays through December 23.

— Pines Are Fine Family Fun Saturday at the Nevada State Museum, 600 N. Carson Street in Carson City. Make a holiday wreath and a pine needle angel to decorate your tree or packages. Make a table top holiday tree out of a pine cone. Learn all about conifers in Nevada, with a special emphasis on our state tree, the Pinyon Pine. Discover which animals eat pine nuts and how American Indians gather and process pine nuts; explore unique features of pines, fir, and spruce in a lab setting. All ages and cultures welcome. Advanced registration is not necessary. Activity from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Museum admission is $8 for adults, members and children 17 and under are free. Museum hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Call 775-687-4810 or visit nvculture.org/nevadastatemuseumcarsoncity/events for more information.

— Silver Saddle Ranch annual Holiday Open House and Interpretative Holiday Hike. Sign up for the Holiday Hike here: https://apm.activecommunities.com/ccpr/Activity_Search/5116. Hike begins at 1 p.m. from the grounds of Silver Saddle Ranch. Open House at the ranch runs from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Directions: From roundabout at E. Fifth Street and Fairview Drive, continue east on Fifth until the intersection of E. Fifth Street and Carson River Road (1st right after roundabout). Follow Carson River Road south 1.4 miles to the entrance of the Silver Saddle Ranch on right at bend where Carson River Road turns east. Follow gravel road 0.6 miles to parking area.

— First annual Fill A Trailer Kids Toy Drive, Saturday, Dec. 8 from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Martin Auto Color, 2765 U.S. Highway 50 East in Carson City. Gathering as many toys and children's clothing items for all ages as possible; enough to fill a 14-foot utility trailer to the top. Unwrapped gifts would be much appreciated. Canned goods are also welcomed. This event, hosted by J.T. and Friends, is in partnership with the U.S. Marine Corps' Toys For Tots and the Ron Wood Family Resource Center. Call 775-544-2465 for information.

— Join CASI (Carson Animal Services Initiative) at Benson's Feed, 2750 Highway 50 East in Carson City, for Pictures with Santa on Saturday, Dec. 8, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. A wonderful team of elves and volunteers will be on hand to help you and your furry friends meet Santa. Pictures are $15 and include a 4x6 photo and a digital copy to share with proceeds benefitting CASI's Critter Fixer, our low cost spay and neuter voucher program. CASI is committed to Building Shelter, Building Community. See us at www.friendsofcasi.org

— Olde Time Christmas Parade through downtown Carson City, 11 a.m. Santa will be making an appearance with a music-filled parade through downtown Carson City on Saturday, Dec. 8. Children, veterans, and community members are welcomed to join in the parade to help escort Santa through the town. Parade line up begins at 10:30 a.m. on the corner of W. Telegraph Street and Curry Street at Telegraph Square. The parade route is two blocks long, from Telegraph and Curry Streets to Musser and Carson Streets, then back to Telegraph Square. Santa will be at the porch of Rocking and Rolling at 402 N. Curry Street after the parade until 1 p.m., with candy canes for the children. Bring your camera for Santa pictures. If the weather turns, Santa will move inside to the restaurant Gather. Vendors will be at Telegraph Square from 10:30 a.m. until 1 p.m.
The following streets will be closed for the parade:
— Telegraph Street will be closed between South Carson Street and Nevada Street.
— Proctor Street will be closed between South Carson Street and Curry Street.
— Curry Street will be closed between Musser Street and Telegraph Street.

— Christmas Toy Drive at Red's Old 395 Grill, 1055 S. Carson Street, on Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 8-9 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Project Bear Hugs is gathering new, unwrapped toys for children of the Camp Fire in Paradise, CA. We need toys for children ages 6 months to teens, and wrapping paper and supplies. There will be hot chocolate provided by Red's Old 395 for any volunteers. Receive one drink or appetizer voucher from Red's Old 395 for every toy donation (exclusions apply).

— Annual Holiday Open House at Artsy Fartsy Art Gallery, 405 N. Nevada Street in Carson City, 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. The wine room will be filled with champagne, chocolates, cookies, candies, and Bellinis and more. Natasha Munson is our featured artist and the gallery will be decorated for the holidays. For more information, you can call Jeffery Pace at 775-885-ARTS (2787), visit www.artsyfartsyartgallery.com.

— Tintabulations Handbell Ensemble "Oh Wait! It's Christmas!!" Dec. 8 at 1 p.m. at the William N. Pennington Life Center, 952 S. Main Street in Fallon. Free admission. Suitable for all ages.

— Reno Video Game Symphony Orchestral Concert, 4-6 p.m. inside the Bob Boldrick Theater at the Carson City Community Center, 851 E. William Street in Carson City. The setlist features several pieces from the Metal Gear Solid series and other great games and music. Free admission. Come listen to both orchestras play some awesome video game music.

— Wild Horse Children's Theater presents "Mary Poppins, Jr." Wild Horse Children’s Theater presents the Northern Nevada premiere of Disney and Cameron Mackintosh’s "Mary Poppins, Jr." With unforgettable songs, breathtaking dance numbers and an irresistible story, this magical family-musical is “practically perfect” for the start of the holiday season. "Mary Poppins, Jr." runs two weekends only at the Brewery Arts Center Performance Hall, 511 W. King Street in Carson City, with two casts of incredibly talented local youth ages 5-18.
Showtimes are Saturday, Dec. 8 at 2 and 7 p.m., and Sunday, Dec. 9 at 2 p.m.
Tickets are $12 for adults, $10 for seniors and students, $5 for children under age 12 and children ages 3 and under are free. Tickets can be purchased by calling our box office at 775-440-1170 or on line at our website: www.wildhorsetheater.com.

— Mike Thomas Lecture Series presents “Immortality” and the quest to live forever at the Jack C. Davis Observatory, 2699 Van Patten Drive in Carson City. Thomas’ slide-show presentation examines theories concerning the possibility of mankind achieving endless life. Presentations starts at 6:30 p.m. and are free to the public. Doors to Jack C. Davis Observatory open at 6 p.m.

— Road to Bethlehem: A Carson City Drive Through Living Nativity, Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 8-9, 6:30-8 p.m. Drive-through or walk the path, enter at Division and King Streets. Donations of non-perishable food items will be accepted to help citizens in our community. For more information go to www.carson1umc.org or call the church at 775-882-1436.

— Proscenium Player’s 'A Christmas Chaos' at the Brewery Arts Center, Saturday at 7 p.m. The Brewery Arts Center, Carson City’s premiere epicenter for the arts since 1976, continues its 40-year partnership with Proscenium Players, Inc. as they present "A Christmas Chaos." In this comedy, the Royal Shakespeare Company hasn’t arrived as promised to perform their rendition of "A Christmas Carol." So the intrepid band of hapless actors and technicians must put together their own production in only a few hours! They’re not quite up to the task, even though they give it their all. Directed by Jeff Basa and Cris Travieso, advanced tickets are $13 for PPI and BAC members, $15 for Seniors and Students and $25 for general admission. Tickets are available for purchase at Breweryarts.org or in the Administration Office at 411 West King Street. For more info call the Brewery Arts Center office at 775-883-1976. Shows: Dec. 8, 14 and 15 at 7 p.m., and Dec. 9 and 16 at 2 p.m. inside the MHJ Black Box Theater.

— Mike Betancourt headlines the Carson Comedy Club at Carson Nugget. Back by popular demand, Mike Betancourt returns to the Carson Comedy Club Dec. 8 inside the Carson Nugget located at 507 N. Carson Street in Carson City. Doors open up at 7:15 p.m. and the show starts at 8PM. Ticket can be purchased at the Winners Club inside the Carson Nugget or at ccnugget.com.

ONGOING:

— Tiffani and Bailee's 6th Sealed Toy Drive underway now through Dec. 9, drop off boxes throughout Carson City. Tiffani Barber was diagnosed with stage four brain cancer on Dec. 8, 2012. For those of you who didn't know Tiffani, all she ever wanted to do was help people. So it was no surprise to those closest to her that when the social worker assigned to her case asked her what she needed, Tiffani replied with, "How can I help?" There are multiple locations throughout the Carson City, Carson Valley and Reno area.

— From Carson City to Dayton: Be a Santa to a Senior. Now through Dec. 11, 2018 Home Instead Senior Care and Center for Healthy Aging have set up their trees, and placed the tags for our seniors. These are seniors, who are in homes, and have no one to celebrate the holidays with. Our community from Carson City to Dayton and in between have been absolutely wonderful by getting a tag, and filling the wishes for our Seniors here. There are trees set up at Dayton Smith's, Paradise Salon, Les Schwab and United Federal Credit Union (off of Topsy), and AAA. For more information you can go to www.beasantatoasenior.com Thank you so much for your time, your love and giving heart.

— Pets of the Homeless fundraiser in downtown Carson City. This time of year, the Nevada state capital is filled with traditions. One that has grown especially endearing to the Carson City community is the annual Pets of the Homeless fundraiser presented by Carpa Nevada, LLC and Downtown Coin. Chef Don Pepe Paz, "The Paella King" and owner of Carpa Nevada, is once again donating the profits made from sales of his fine Portuguese olive oils and balsamic vinegar to Pets of the Homeless, a Carson City-based 501(c)3 registered non-profit with a nationwide outreach. The fundraising sale began Thursday, Nov. 1 and runs through Jan. 31, 2019. Olive oil and balsamic vinegar products can be purchased individually or by the case at Downtown Coin, 111 W. Telegraph in downtown Carson City.

— Scoup's Ice Cream and Soup Bar 12 Days of Christmas, now through Dec. 21. Scoup's Ice Cream and Soup Bar has purchased 12 gifts from some of our local businesses, each one to be gifted to 12 lucky individuals. Items to be gifted come from Rocking And Rolling, Artsy Fartsy Art Gallery, The Purple Avocado, Gather, The Bike Smith, Touched by an Angel, Carson City Culture and Tourism Authority, Carson Jewelry and Loan, Rustically Divine, and Kaleidoscope. Drawing tickets will be given to our customers with each purchase. The drawing will continue as long as we have tickets (7,654 tickets) or until Dec. 21, at closing, one day prior to the last drawing. Anytime you purchase a menu item from Scoup's Ice Cream and Soup Bar, you will receive a drawing ticket! Drawings will begin on Dec. 11. Come by the shop and view the amazing gifts from local businesses. As an added bonus, on Dec. 1, anyone who takes part of and is wearing a wine walk wrist band will receive a single drawing ticket. Those who take part in the Holiday Crawl and are wearing the wrist band will receive two tickets.

— Toys for Tots Carson City and surrounding counties offers hotline for toys. Toys for Tots will be offering gifts to families in Carson City, Douglas, Storey and Lyon counties for Christmas. The hotline is available today and runs through Dec. 21, 2018. Call in times are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. For more information, call Ron Wood Family Resource Center: 884-2269. ENGLISH Speaking families call - (775) 800-3123. SPANISH speaking families call - (775) 800-3583.

— Christmas tree permits available on Carson, Bridgeport ranger districts. Permits to cut Christmas trees on the Carson and Bridgeport Ranger Districts of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest will be available for purchase now through Dec. 25. The U.S. Forest Service Christmas Tree Program is designed for families, businesses, and institutions wishing to cut their own trees for decorating. Christmas tree permits must be purchased in person and are issued on a first-come, first-serve basis for $10 each, with a limit of two trees per household. Permits are nonrefundable and nontransferable, and only valid through Dec. 25, 2018. The Ranger Districts have a limited amount of Christmas tree permits available, and once those allotted permits are sold, no more will be available.

— Carson City Parks, Recreation and Open Space is currently seeking individuals and pairs interested in leading interpretive programs in one of our many parks and open spaces. Interested individuals and pairs are encouraged to apply. If interested, go here.

— The Capital City Arts Initiative presents its exhibition, Americana with Cadmium Orange, by artist Gig Depio at the CCAI Courthouse Gallery. 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Depio is an artist and an advocate for public art in Las Vegas, Nevada. He was awarded the 2016 Fellowship Grant in Painting by the Nevada Arts Council (NAC). He has worked on various exhibitions and projects with the Nevada Museum of Art, Nevada Arts Council’s OXS Gallery, and UNLV Marjorie Barrick Museum, among others. Depio graduated from Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines. He lives in Las Vegas with his family. Carson City Courthouse Gallery, 885 E. Musser Street in Carson City.

— Winter Conditioning Program at Well Being Fitness. 9 a.m. 1851 S. Roop St, Unit 145, Carson City. Winter sports and activities are on the horizon! Join us at Well Being (Massage and Functional Fitness) and prepare your body for success. We focus on strength, dynamic balance and stability, and muscular endurance (yes, that means cardio!) as they relate to winter sports and activities like snow-mobile excursions, snow shoeing, skiing and snowboarding, and all the Nordic and back country activities on your list.

— Meals on Wheels Carson City will be participating in the 2018 Subaru Share the Love Event as a member of Meals on Wheels America, one of four national Share the Love charitable partners supported through the promotion. From Nov. 15 through Jan. 2, 2019, Subaru of America will donate $250 for every new Subaru vehicle sold or leased to the customer's choice of participating charities.
For more information on Meals on Wheels Carson City, email Courtney Warner at CWarner@carson.org, or call the Center at (775) 883-0703. The Carson City Senior Center is located at 911 Beverly Drive in Carson City. Visit www.mealsonwheelsamerica.org/sharethelove for more information on Subaru Share the Love event.

This calendar is updated throughout the day as information becomes available.