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Pirates part of holidays
Santa makes early arrival in Culpeper
Date published: 11/19/2007
BY CHELYEN DAVIS If you were in downtown Culpeper for the town's annual Holiday Open House yesterday, you couldn't miss the pirates. Pirates might not seem a traditional part of the holiday season, but they do attract attention, especially from kids, which is what the Reformation Lutheran Church was going for. The church participated in the Holiday Open House with a skit called "Pirates of the Galilee," featuring pirates choosing Jesus as their new captain and discussing the "treasure map" he gives them--the Bible. Lilja Powell, a church member who helped write the skit, and the songs, and provided the pirate costumes out of her collection from years with a renaissance fair, said the church's aim was to provide entertainment for kids who come to the open house with shopping-oriented parents. "So many children were downtown last year. And there was nothing for children to do," Powell said. "Kids love pirates." In addition to the pirates, kids--and parents--could take horse-drawn wagon rides, trolley rides, visit Santa, pet miniature horses and shop. The stores along Davis Street were pretty full of people yesterday. Maire Flanagan, owner of the Rathuil All Things Irish store, said the open house definitely draws more people to downtown than a typical Sunday. "Sunday's usually pretty quiet," she said. "Everyone came out to start their holiday season." Claude Minnich, owner for 27 years of Clarke Hardware, said the open house seems to get bigger every year. "It brings a lot of people in that don't normally come into downtown," he said. "And then they come back." Near the train station, Brandy Manor miniature horses were a big draw for kids. Frank Pastorelli and his wife brought them. Pastorelli said they have 13 miniature horses, which they've just begun using to work with abused and foster kids. Their brochure says they hope to stop the cycle of child abuse, and animal abuse, by giving children an opportunity to interact with the small, mild-mannered horses. Across the street, Santa was set up in the visitor's center for pictures. That's where Tracy Rose was waiting with her daughters, 7-year-old Paige and 5-year-old Jaycee. "We wanted to see Santa, go for a horse and carriage ride," Rose said. She would have liked to do some shopping--downtown stores were offering discounts, raffles, cookies and cider to mark the town's kickoff to the holiday-shopping season. Culpeper Renaissance organizes the open house event, and Diane Logan estimated it draws about 3,000 people to downtown each year. It's been going on for about 33 years, she said. Not only is it now the "local way to start off the holiday season," it's become a regional draw, Logan said. Becky and Todd Ballard bear that out--they brought their three children down from Springfield for the day. "We're (originally) from Oklahoma, so it's nice to get more into a small-town area," Todd Ballard said. Chelyen Davis: 804/782-9362Email: cdavis@freelancestar.com
Date published: 11/19/2007
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