As always, the Dolores Chamber and Rotary club have been getting into the Christmas spirit.
The Rotary maintains all the Christmas lighting in town, including the hilltop display. Shawna Valdez was instrumental in getting the club to replace all the town light pole wreaths. She spearheaded an effort to replace every worn display and purchase LED lighting for the hillside display.
To fund the effort, the Dolores Chamber teamed up with Rotary to host one of their monthly Bingos events in November to raise the money. The effort raised approximately $3,500 over the past three years. As of this year, thanks to teams of Rotarians snaking up that hillside on cold Saturday mornings, all the lights have been replaced with energy efficient LED lighting.
Also this year, the Chamber has a movable Christmas tree traveling around town with a maker-based craft station where folks can make, string, and hang their ornaments. Participants are asked them tell “What do you love about Dolores.”
The Chamber will be collecting those ornaments and put them out to the community in the form of a Community Christmas card/video. This is a tool used during the Heart & Soul Cortez process, to find out what the community held dear, what they loved about their community, and to help them define who they are.
Business and Citizen of the Year nominations are due by Jan. 20. Nominations are either online – visit doloreschamber.com – or paper ballots are available at Dolores Public Library or the The Ponderosa.
The Dolores Chamber welcomed three new members in December – Doc’s Outfitters, Silver Sparrow Designs, and Travelhost Four Corners.
The Shop Local Dolores Dollar winners this year are: Darlene Denison, entry from GST Liquors $300 Dolores Dollars; Kate Nemanic, entry from GST Liquors $150 Dolores Dollars; and Darlene Murin, entry from Traditional Charm Antique Mall $50 Dolores Dollars.
