Volunteers needed for Chipper’s Christmas Wonderland at the fairgrounds
By John Steffanic
Plumas-Sierra County Fair Manager
After last year’s Chipper’s Christmas Wonderland drive thru display at the Plumas Sierra County Fairgrounds, we could hardly wait until this year’s version. When the Dixie Fire first broke out, our minds we elsewhere, but certainly it wouldn’t, couldn’t affect this year’s Christmas Wonderland. Could it? Fire camp has lingered, the possibility of dozens of crews moving into the fairground to work on cleaning up the aftermath of the fire, and wanting to be available for any displaced residents all have left the announcement of whether to have a 2021 Chipper’s Christmas Wonderland on hold.
We want this. We need this. No one can take Christmas from Chipper! This is on! This year’s event will be in person. In fact, there will not be a drive thru this year; visitors will be able to walk thru outdoor displays of lights. Then they can walk through an indoor wonderland of hand painted Christmas displays. They can visit Santa and his elves in his enchanted forest, and then huddle next to an open fire and listen to live carolers. Chestnuts roasted on an open fire? Why not? Hot cocoa for the kids, Snugglers for the grown-ups. There will be food; hot chili, mac and cheese, chicken noodle soup, and sweets of all sorts. There will be live entertainment, there will be Christmas Joy. We will come together like the Whos of Whoville and call ourselves the Plums of Plumas, or maybe something else if we can think of something better.
We will sell some food and drinks, maybe some trinkets and photos with Santa, and we’ll probably have some buckets out for donations. The bottom line is, it’s far more important to have everyone come together than make a buck. Admission is free, visiting Santa is free and the entertainment is free. The PSCF Foundation and the Plumas Sierra County Fairgrounds want everyone to have the best possible holiday season, but we do need some help.
Chipper’s Christmas Wonderland will run for three weekends beginning on the first Saturday of December, the 4th. On Friday, Dec. 3 we will not operate to make room for Sparkle in Downtown Quincy. Then we will be open Friday and Saturday of the next two weekends; Dec. 10 & 11, and Dec. 17 & 18. Each night will start at 6 p.m. and run until 9 p.m.
Now, here’s where we need help; can you volunteer a night or two? There are many tasks that need to be taken care of by people that really, really want to help. We want people that know they are doing this for everyone else, that go out of their way to make every visitor feel special and joyous. We need help in our food booth, we need hosts and hostesses to make sure people don’t fall in the fire pits or try to insert themselves into the displays, we need people that want to sing, we need people willing to dress up and add to the ambiance. We need people to make sure everyone parks their cars in the right spots and then are able to enter the fairgrounds safely. Mostly we need people who want to have fun and can help others have fun as well. Simply call the Fair Office and let them know what nights you would be able to help; 530-283-6272.
Thank you for considering becoming a volunteer. There will be some opportunities for local non-profit groups to raise some funds. Contact the Fair Office to find out what kind of activities will be allowed. The latest details for the entire event will be posted on the Fair website and on Facebook.
