Santa Claus

Washoe Lake State Park north of Carson City will offer two opportunities to learn about past holiday traditions and local history plus a unique full moon hike on Christmas Eve.

Northern Nevada Christmas Past will be a family-friendly, Christmas-themed slide show that covers past holiday traditions combined with local history from Virginia City, Fort Churchill, Buckland Station and other areas of Northern Nevada. Rangers will also discuss origins of holiday traditions, including Santa Claus, candy canes and Christmas trees.

Chestnuts will be roasting at the Carson City Elks booth on Telegraph Street this Friday as thousands assemble to hear the Carson City School District Fifth Graders sing traditional carols on the steps of the capitol as part of the Silver and Snowflakes Festival of Lights.

Come down to the Carson Mall and have a delightful visit with Santa Claus. Get a Keepsake photo with Santa on his beautiful sleigh.

This week's It's Your City with Cortney Bloomer looks to Friday night's annual Carson City holiday traditions: The Christmas tree lighting at the Nevada State Capitol Building and the Empty Bowls Project. Cortney talks with Robin McGregor of the Empty Bowls Project, which benefits Friends In Service Helping, also known as FISH and with Ronni Hannaman, executive director of the Carson City Chamber of Commerce.

See the video below.

This week's It's Your City with Cortney Bloomer looks to Friday night's annual Carson City holiday traditions: The Christmas tree lighting at the Nevada State Capitol Building and the Empty Bowls Project. Cortney talks with Robin McGregor of the Empty Bowls Project, which benefits Friends In Service Helping, also known as FISH and with Ronni Hannaman of the Carson City Chamber of Commerce about the tree lighting.

The Polar Express on the historic Virginia & Truckee Railroad has sold out for the fifth consecutive year, with more than 15,000 passengers securing rides to the North Pole.

A wait list sign-up is available online here that could offer a last chance to ride the Polar Express in 2015. Tickets for next year’s holiday train go on sale in August 2016.

The Salvation Army serving Carson City and Douglas County is seeking gifts for boys and girls ages 13 to 17 during their annual holiday toy drive.

Even with 82 locations around Carson City and Douglas County, including 27 of the Salvation Army’s ubiquitous red-kettle bell-ringers, Lt. Mark Cyr of the Salvation Army said teenagers are the most often overlooked population during holiday gift giving.

We've got a winner of the Silver & Snowflakes Festival of Lights Holiday Art Contest and are pleased to reveal 8th grader Carson Middle Schooler Ava Covington is the winner.

Friday, Dec. 4 and Saturday, Dec. 5 are evenings filled with fun. The annual tree lighting, Empty Bowls, and a Christmas Faire return to downtown to kick off the season. The Holiday Crawl on Saturday begins a new Carson City tradition.

The holiday season comes to life with the Reno Phil’s annual celebration, Spirit of the Season, Dec. 5 and 6 at the Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts.

The Nevada Northern Railway Museum transforms into Chris Van Allsburg’s classic children’s book, The Polar Express, this Christmas season.

Children of all ages are welcome on a special ride from Ely, Nev. to the North Pole. Hot chocolate and cookies are served while listening to the Polar Express story and music from the Polar Express soundtrack.

Santa’s helpers are on board, and Santa Claus awaits the train’s arrival at the North Pole, where he presents children with the special gift of a silver bell.

Two weeks before The Polar Express takes its first ride from Carson City to the completely reimagined North Pole aboard the Virginia and Truckee Railroad 88 percent of tickets have already been sold.

A testament to the popularity of the Polar Express — the train ride has completely sold out each of the previous four years — now’s the time to secure tickets so the kids aren’t disappointed.

Evergreen Gene's Inc. Christmas Kickoff begins Saturday November 28, 2015 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
1811 N. Carson Street in Carson City.

Come See Santa Claus from noon to 1 p.m. Bring a camera to take pictures of your kids and/or Pets with Santa Claus! Sample Hot Wassail, hot Christmas Tea, Other Goodies. Shop Small. Shop Local.

Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town, and sooner than we may be ready for him! As the Nevada Day festivities ramp us this week and close on Sunday, the frantic holiday season that follows is soon upon us.

As part of the 26th Annual Silver & Snowflakes Festival of Lights to be held Friday, Dec. 4, children of all ages enrolled in any of Carson City’s schools — whether public or private — are encouraged to submit original drawings to win cash prizes and to be featured on the cover of the Silver & Snowflakes special edition published by the Nevada Appeal. Winning art will be on display at the library until after the new year.

With 10 weeks before Christmas, the Carson City Sheriff’s Office this week officially launched its 11th annual Holiday with a Hero campaign. This community wide program is designed to give homeless Carson City area children a Christmas experience by providing them gift cards to spend on themselves prior to the holiday.

Tickets to board The Polar Express train ride via the Virginia & Truckee Railroad, the annual Carson City family holiday tradition, go on sale online beginning August 20.

Now in its fifth season, the all-ages holiday train will depart Carson City for a series of one-hour round-trip journeys to the magical North Pole.

Whether you are young or old, Christmas is an enjoyable time of the year. Christmas has always been and will always be very special to me. It has been a holiday occasion that, through the years, our family has enjoyed here in Carson City or at the Quilici Cabin near Davis Lake, Calif.

It was the night before Christmas in the capital city which, for a brief time at least, threatened slick and snowy roads but instead brought rain showers as Santa made his way to 86 homes via patrol cars in a caravan led by the Carson City Sheriff's Office Reserve Organization.

In a tradition that spans nearly 30 years, a legion of sheriff’s office volunteers dressed as Santa and elves made pre-arranged home visits around Carson City, delivering mighty roars of “Merry Christmas,” candy canes and gifts for children.

Happy Friday, Carson City, the holidays are upon us in full force! Hanukkah has begun and Christmas is less than a week away. Time to get your last minute shopping finished and get those yummy smelling goodies in the oven. There are still some fun things happening around town, so grab the kids or a special someone and have yourself a holly, jolly time.

The 10th annual Holiday with a Hero was held Wednesday at Walmart in Carson City with 190 school children from kindergarten through fifth grade having a Christmas to call their own, thanks to the astounding response from Carson City donors and volunteers.

Nearly 300 volunteers were at the event to help the Carson City area school children shop at Walmart using gift cards paid for by donations from around the community. Each child was given a $100 gift card and paired with a "hero" to spend on clothing, shoes and a toy.

'Tis the Season, Carson City! Holiday cheer is in the wind, and we have plenty of wind right now. This weekend is jam-packed with food and toy drives, concerts, and Santa-sightings, so bundle up and have a fun time enjoying our great city.

Hear the whistle blowing this afternoon? Beginning this Saturday, Santa Claus is spending the next two weekends at the Nevada State Railroad Museum in Carson City from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

New for 2014, advance tickets are on sale to allow priority boarding on a scheduled day. The historic and picturesque V&T Railway steam locomotive No. 25 pulls Santa Train, departing Carson City’s Wabuska Depot at the corner of Fairview Drive and Carson Street.

Everyone is invited to participate, just make sure to be lined up at the corner of Carson St. and W. Musser St. by 10:30 a.m., the parade starts at 11 a.m. sharp.

Good news from the North Pole: Santa Claus is coming to the Children's Museum of Northern Nevada on Friday Dec. 12 from 6 p.m. - 8 p.m. Bring your cameras because photo-ops and crafts are included in the $5 per child admission. Parents are admitted free. Please note: special event admission is not included in membership.

Hello, Carson City! The holiday season is in full swing with tree lightings, craft fairs, Santa sightings all around the area. Every week, I create a list of the fun stuff and events going on around the Carson City area for my Facebook page, I love Carson City. I follow the pages of local businesses and organizations, search website calendars, keep my ear to the ground, and compile a list of anything and everything going on in this community.

Get in the holiday spirit with the Reno Philharmonic’s classic holiday celebration, Spirit of the Season, Dec. 6 and 7 at the Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts. An annual audience favorite for the whole family, Spirit of the Season features the Reno Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus, northern Nevada’s largest performing arts organization, and special guests to create a variety show-style concert like no other.

Santa Claus is spending two weekends at the Nevada State Railroad Museum in Carson City aboard the train Dec. 13-14, 20-21 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. New for 2014, advance tickets are on sale to allow priority boarding on a scheduled day.

“Tis the Season” again already! For the 16th Year Friends To All volunteers will dress up in Santa Suits and Helper costumes to bring joy and cheer to senior citizens throughout Carson City.

On Saturday, Dec. 13 these festive groups will log between 150 and 200 stops as they make their rounds visiting and delivering gifts. This year we give special appreciation and honor to the man who inspired our program, Raymond Smith, who passed away in September. Ray’s enthusiasm in bringing the joy of a visit from Santa Claus to so many in our community will live on in our hearts forever.

Only 660 tickets remain for the family favorite trip to the North Pole aboard the 2014 Polar Express train, Nov. 20 to Dec. 22, 2014. Select coach seats aboard the all-ages holiday train into a winter wonderland and the world of imagination.

Because of the demand, more trips and passenger cars were added to the month-long event, which has consistently sold out since debuting four years ago and is expected to draw record numbers again this holiday season. Last year more than 16,000 passengers rode the train.

The Annual Silver and Snowflakes Festival of Lights and Official Tree Lighting tonight, Friday, Dec. 5. is more than just flipping on the holiday lights in downtown Carson City; Santa, carolers, soup, hot chocolate, and ice skating all play a part in the fun.

The Itinerary for the festival is as follows: