Expressions of the holidays in Nevada City
There is something magical in the air in Nevada City these days. Colorful Christmas lights began going up in yards over the Thanksgiving weekend all around these wooded foothills. By December, the rooflines of businesses along historic Broad Street were twinkling with white lights. From one end of the downtown to the other, authentic gas lamp posts had been decorated by the Chamber of Commerce (with the help of a troop of Boy Scouts) with red holiday banners and cedar boughs bound with bright red bows in anticipation of the month’s annual Victorian Christmas festivities.
This year, the Jewish festival of Chanukah began on the evening of November 28 and concluded the evening of December 6. A public event called the Festival of Lights was held in Nevada City at Robinson Square on the third night of Chanukah. There were tables filled with traditional gifts for kids and adults alike— bracelets that glowed in the dark, menorahs, and gift bags of dark chocolate coins (symbolizing gold and silver “gelt” given out to children during the Jewish holiday). Traditional Sufganiyot (jelly donuts dusted with powdered sugar), latkes and apple sauce, and cups of hot chocolate or coffee were in abundance for all.
As music filled the crisp night and the sky grew dark, Kit and I watched fire dancer Sequoia Criteser entertain the crowd in a dazzling torch light performance that symbolized the message of how a small amount of light can dispel a lot of darkness. Acts of goodness, kindness and the sharing of light can make a difference. The evening ended with the lighting of three candles on a 9-foot Menorah by Rabbi Nochum Yusewitz of Chabad of Grass Valley. The event was one of more than 15,000 public Chanukah celebrations that took place this year in more than 100 countries around the world.
Seeing the decorations around the downtown that night, I couldn’t wait to deck the halls of our home the following morning. When Kit and I unpacked our moving van contents last April, boxes of Christmas decorations were stored in the garage attic. Six months later, it was time to ascend the narrow wooden pull-down steps, climb up into the attic, and bring them back down. Ever so carefully, I climbed the ladder and lowered the boxes down into a laundry hamper that Kit held out below. First to be unwrapped and assembled was a 3-foot tabletop flocked tree with white Italian lights that is now filled with glass ornaments that twinkle with reflected light. In the dining room, a feather tree is filled with bears, owls, hedgehogs, wolves, birds, mice, and other animals of the forest. And around its base, there is an homage to all the cats who have touched our lives.
On Saturday, son Hayden and grandson Nico arrived for a two-day visit in a rented Mustang GT convertible the color of a classic orange pumpkin. We will stage a selfie around the throaty beast but there is no way either Kit or I could get into the thing or back out without a crane. As a result, I drove the four of us to town that evening in our trusty 2009 Barcelona red Rav 4. We then met daughter Heidi and her wife Sugie at Hayden’s favorite restaurant in Nevada City—Lola in the exquisitely renovated National Exchange Hotel that dates to 1856—one of the oldest operating hotels west of the Rockies.
Chef Tom Bevitori’s menu is a delicious mix of small plates, salads, soups, and large plates that cry out to be shared. Among those we sampled were Walnut Pate (with sourdough toasts and endive boats); Pappardelle (ricotta, artichoke, garlic, sage, parmesan, pecan); and Radishes & Butter (local vat-cultured butter). Salads shared were combinations of leafy greens, goat cheese, pumpkin and sunflower seeds, mandarin oranges, and fennel. Large plates included Halibut, milk braised pork, and New York steak delicately sliced for sharing, and for the vegetarians among us, there was Red Kuri Squash with oyster mushrooms, almond ricotta, red onion, and arugula. And choosing not to pass on the dessert offerings, we all had a taste of the kitchen’s fabulous Chocolate mousse cake and a cream-filled Profiterole choux pastry drenched in melted chocolate sauce. My, oh my!
In the month ahead, Kit and I will experience expressions of the holidays in Nevada City one week at a time. In the tradition of European street markets, historic Broad Street will be lined on given dates with nearly one hundred vendors selling handmade goods and delicious holiday foods for all to enjoy. In addition, downtown shops and restaurants will be open on the market afternoons and nights. Visitors can warm their hands while chestnuts are roasting, and hot buttered rum and mulled wine will keep strollers warm as they listen to a chorus of carolers dressed in Victorian fashions. Victorian Christmas takes place three Sunday afternoons (December 5, 12, & 19 from 1:30-6 pm) and two Wednesday evenings (December 8 & 15 from 5-9 pm).
Stay tuned, readers, as the magic of Christmas in Nevada City unfolds.