Local wineries come together for holiday tasting event
For the past six years, the Southwest Washington Winery Association (SWWA) has hosted and organized a fall “barrel tasting” wine tour event in the region.
Normally taking place during Thanksgiving weekend, wine-lovers in the area could visit wineries in the area and sample not-yet released wines in progress as well as new releases and other favorites. Visitors collected stamps on a postcard from each winery which were then entered into a gift card raffle.
While the events planned for Thanksgiving weekend have been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the SWWA is adapting the fall tour to accommodate social distancing guidelines and hosting the event over the course of two months. The 2020 Holiday Wine Tour will run from November through Dec. 31 to avoid crowded tasting rooms. Along with this, curbside purchases and promoting local wineries on social media will earn wine-lovers entries into a drawing that will occur on Jan. 15, 2021. Each point earns an entry in the drawing for three $100 gift cards.
The 2020 tour includes local Southwest Washington wineries all throughout Clark County. For more information, visit swwawine.com/2020Holiday.
Wineries Participating in
the 2020 Holiday Promotion:
Airfield Estates Winery
Brian Carter Cellars
Burnt Bridge Cellars
Confluence Vineyard and Winery
Emanar Cellars
English Estate Winery
Heisen House Vineyard
Maryhill Winery
Matranga Vineyards
Pepper Bridge Winery and Amavi Cellars
Pomeroy Cellars
Rezabek Vineyards
Stavalaura Vineyards and Winery
SuLei Cellars
Windy Hills Winery
Valo Cellars & Massalto
Free Clinic of Southwest Washington transitions to virtual holiday ball
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Free Clinic of Southwest Washington is taking its annual in-person “Holiday Ball” online for 2020. The celebration will now be a six-day Virtual Holiday Ball and Week of Celebration. The event will raise money to help uninsured residents of Southwest Washington receive free healthcare.
Between Dec. 5 and 10, interested parties can tune into to daily messages on the Free Clinic’s website at freeclinics.org/virtual-ball/#.
The Virtual Holiday Ball and Week of Celebration will kick-off on Saturday, Dec. 5 at 10 a.m. with a special message from Free Clinic Executive Director Ann Wheelock, along with other familiar faces. The week of celebration will also include an online auction, a chance to win a piece of jewelry designed by Vancouver’s own Rand Jeweler, and many Free Clinic stories. To register for the event, go to freeclinics.org.
“During these times of uncertainty surrounding COVID-19, we need to counter this with warmth and love. This perspective is guiding our efforts as we prepare to host our first ever Virtual Holiday Ball and Week of Celebration,” Free Clinic Communications, Development and Outreach Manager Pam Knepper said in a news release. “We want to foster inclusion, camaraderie, and kinship amidst widespread social distancing. There is no better way to honor the community-building spirit on which the Free Clinic was founded 30 years ago. Please plan to join our special online celebration, so we can continue to offer compassionate care-always.”
Winter Wonderland in downtown Camas brings socially distant holiday fun
From Dec. 1 to Dec. 12, downtown Camas will be decked out in holiday fun for the first-ever Winter Wonderland event. The event will play host to a number of winter-inspired, socially-distanced activities that are free for the community. The winter wonderland will include winter window displays, a cookie walk, winter-inspired photos, giving trees, holiday stories and a free winter activity bag for kids.
“Though we’ve had to pivot our downtown holiday events this year for safety reasons,” Executive Director for the Downtown Camas Association Carrie Schulstad said in a news release. “We still wanted to provide opportunities for families to come together and create memories in Downtown Camas. We’ve collaboratively come up with event activities spread out over 12 days to bring some joy and whimsy to the community and that people can do at their own pace and comfort level. We’re hoping this also encourages strong holiday shopping and dining support of our downtown businesses as well. We won’t have a tree lighting ceremony this year, but the City will install and decorate a tree by December 4th to add to the winter charm of our beautiful downtown.”
Activities include:
• Winter Wonderland Window Displays
Downtown merchants will have their windows decorated in winter and holiday themes to enjoy as you stroll through town doing your holiday shopping. Vote for your favorite window on First Friday, Dec. 4. Pick up your voting slip at Papermaker Pride, 339 NE 4th. Each window will also have a hidden woodland animal for children to find.
• Cookie Walk in Downtown Shops (on First Friday, Dec. 4, 5 to 8 p.m.)
Pick up a “Cookie Bag” at Papermaker Pride starting at 5 p.m. and visit participating merchants to fill your bag with a free individually wrapped cookie from each.
• Giving Trees for Local Families
Choose a gift tag from a downtown giving tree in participating locations and buy the gift for a family in need. Craft Warehouse donated the trees.
• Holiday Window Stories
Every day from Dec. 1-12, the first half of a locally written winter or holiday-inspired short story will be posted on the Downtown Camas Association Facebook page and on the Holiday Window Stories webpage. A downtown merchant will have the rest of the story posted in their window. The post will tell you which window the rest of the story is in.
• Kids’ Activity Bags Dec. 7–12
Fun winter inspired activity bags for kids will be provided by Camas Parks and Recreation. Pick up at City Hall. For more details, visitfacebook.com/camasparksan
drecreation
•Snowman and Winter Photo Ops in Downtown
Surprise snowmen and other winter-inspired figures and photo ops will be throughout Downtown Camas for young and old to discover and take pictures of or with. Thank you to local resident Maria Stefanovic for volunteering her time to create many of the displays.
Drive-through Zoo Lights at the Oregon Zoo
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the widely popular ZooLights at the Oregon Zoo are back on for 2020, with a drive-through experience. This year, the zoo is putting on its display of 1.5 million lights for attendees to enjoy right from their car. The event will run from Nov. 22 to Jan. 10 (with the exception of Dec. 25) and will cost $40-$65 per car depending on the date. As of publishing, ticket sales are on hold. More information about ticket sales and a map is available online at oregonzoo.org/visit/zoolights.
