Sebastopolians are invited to make merry at the Peacetown Family Village and snowflake hunt on Sunday, Dec. 5, from 2-4 p.m. The free event will be held at Peacetown’s new brick and mortar location in the Barlow, across the street from Taylor Lane Coffee in the former Foundry building.
Children can write letters to Santa to be “mailed” to the North Pole and take photos with the man himself at the event, according to Elizabeth Smith, a Peacetown board director and president of the local Soroptimist International chapter.
The festivities include holiday-themed crafts to enjoy, like decorating peace-themed ornaments to take home or bestow upon the community peace tree. While the event encourages revelers to shop local overall, Smith said cider and hot cocoa will be available.
Mr. Music and friends will be providing live music and there will be Peacetown sweaters, hats, T-shirts, cups and wine glasses for sale, she said.
Families can embark on the snowflake scavenger hunt to find the hidden snowflakes hung from the downtown Barlow area towards Florence Avenue with a special sheet of clues. There’s no prize, Smith said, just a jolly good time.
“The idea is to get people out moving their bodies, being out in the community, promoting local businesses, promoting all the wonderful things that make Sebastopol what it is,” she said. “And just to have something fun to do during the holidays that is a positive childhood experience.”
Smith added later, “I know I say that word a lot, but it’s really important to me because it buffers all the toxic stress of what’s going on in the world, so it’s important to me to provide those opportunities for children to grow up with those positive experiences where they’re linked to community.”
Smith shared that local organizations like the Sonoma County PACEs Connection will be there sharing resources and “creating opportunities for meaningful conversations with families,” Smith shared.
“There still doesn’t seem to be a lot of community events coming back into the holiday cycle, so we just wanted to normalize being in-person,” she said of the festivities organized by Peacetown Family Village to bring people together again and make it family-friendly.
