Victorian Christmas Dec. 5

Make plans now to celebrate Christmas in Bolivar during the Victorian Christmas event from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 5, sponsored by the Downtown Bolivar Association.

Carolers will put shoppers in the holiday spirit with performances throughout the day. Carriage rides will be given by Shires for Hire for a small fee, and all other events are free.

First-, second- and third-place prizes will be given for entries in a gingerbread house decorating contest. Gingerbread houses must be dropped off in the basement of the Polk County Courthouse between 10 and 11 a.m. Dec. 5. Judging starts at 11. The houses will be on display throughout the day and must be picked up between 3 and 4 p.m.

A Victorian costume contest is at 1 p.m. in the courthouse. Prizes will be given to the winners.
Santa Claus will be at the courthouse from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m., and the Grinch also will make an appearance.

Store windows will feature live mannequins, and a prize will be given to the business with the best window display.

Featured artists

Here's pictures of the featured artists who demonstrated their talents in different businesses on the square.

It's a success!

Turnout was good for the first Art in the Alley Saturday, May 9, in downtown Bolivar. From kids' activities to the loft walk, everyone who came had a good time. We're already thinking about changes we want to make next year to make the event even better. Were you there and have an idea for making it better? Send an e-mail to us at downtownbolivar@gmail.com.

And in case you missed it, here's some photos from the event.

Big thank you to our sponsors!

We want to give a BIG thank you to these businesses for their monetary and in-kind donations to make the first Art in the Alley event possible: Citizens Memorial Healthcare, Bolivar Herald-Free Press, KYOO Radio, The Country Hearth and Tea Garden Café, Village Boutique/Munchkin Outfi tters, Roy Blunt YMCA of Bolivar, Polk County Genealogical Society, Family Institute of the Ozarks, Roweton’s Home Center, Douglas, Haun & Heidemann, Horton’s, We Frame It & More and Studio 106.

Special art exhibit

Creative Images Portrait Gallery, a sponsor of Art in the Alley, will be open Saturday at 207 E. Jackson St. and host paintings from two local artists: Elaine Ballard, featuring nature scenes, and Jenni Bayless, a Bolivar High School graduate and former art teacher. Several of her featured pieces were created while her son, Granton, underwent treatment for SCID, a rare genetic disorder in which the immune system fails to develop.

Gearing up for Art in the Alley, rain or shine

Some banners are up on the Bolivar square in preparation for Saturday's Art in the Alley event. As of now, it looks like the rain is going to miss us on Saturday. But if it doesn't, still come on down because we have a rain plan. Artwork will be set up inside Center Stage Dance Academy, 218 E. Jackson St.

Artwork registration still open

So we set April 10 as the deadline for artwork registration. Well, we've extended it. So feel free to submit your artwork for display that day. Just remember it needs to be family friendly art. See previous post about artwork registration to download a copy of the registration form. Cut off the portion with your registration information and keep the middle part. Those are the tags for you to place on your artwork.

Have fun choosing your artwork to display!