all things MERRY and BRIGHT

The holiday season officially kicked off in Thompson Falls last weekend with the annual Christmas on Main Street festivities.

Along with a holiday parade Saturday evening and the annual gingerbread contest at the Old Jail Museum, the Thompson Falls Chamber of Commerce added a Holiday Stroll Thursday evening. Local merchants were encouraged to stay open Thursday evening and Santa made a stop at the Black Bear Ballroom for photo opportunities.

Saturday evening, thee Men's Prayer Breakfast group hosted residents and visitors in the First Security Bank parking lot for warm beverages, chili and hot dogs. Each year, the group gathers donations from local residents and businesses to provide the free concessions before the parade.

The parade kicked off at 6:30 p.m. Participants were encouraged to follow the theme of "I'll Be Home for Christmas." Joanne Burk with First Security Bank said the parade went great this year. She noted that they had 37 entries, with some people participating in the parade for the first time this year. Burk said she got help from her First Security Bank coworkers calling groups to participate and helping to line up entries for the start.

This was the 10th year that Burk has organized the Christmas on Main Street parade. On Monday she announced the winning floats. The brightest entry went to Sanders County Search and Rescue, who decorated their rescue boat with an abundance of lights. They even had a reindeer in need of rescue hanging off the boat. The best costumes went to the participants from First Baptist Church with their Charles Dickens themed attire.

"Everybody looked awesome," Burk said. The people's choice best overall float went to First Security Bank. Following the "I'll Be Home for Christmas" theme, the First Security float was split in two parts, with the Scharfe family sitting at a dining table and Michael Scharfe dressed in military attire on the opposite side of a door waiting to join his family.

The Men's Prayer Breakfast group also picked five parade entries at random to receive a $100 prize each. The winners drawn thsi year were Mosher Transportation/Feed & Fuel, The Rex Theater group, Trout Creek Mavericks 4-H, Specialized Cleaning and Thompson Falls Rural Fire Department.

Christmas on Main Street visitors got to view dozens of creations in the Sanders County Historical Society's annual gingerbread contest. This was the 22nd year of the contest and entries were on display throughout the weekend at the Old Jail Museum. The theme followed that of Christmas on Main Street, "I'll be home for Christmas."

Twenty-one entries went for the top prize of the Auntie A Award, named after long-time supporter of the contest, the late Alice Nakamura. This year's winner in the adult category was Aimee Foyil's authentic weathered barn, complete with wreaths and lights. Foyil told museum volunteers it was her first attempt at a gingerbread creation. They said that volunteers and museum visitors are hoping this will not be Foyil's last attempt!

Other top entries by popular vote were Millissa Culver and her neighbor Helen Meadows in the family/group category with a "Montana or Bust" bus. Madison Suttorp's country kitchen scene, which include a kitchen table in the shape of Montana, was top in the teen age 13-18 category, Shiann Hall won the youth age 8-12 category with a log cabin, barn and truck, and Wyatt Clawson's train with licorice tracks was the top entry in the child age 7 and under category.

As is tradition, Thompson Falls kindergarten students decorated gingerbread kids to display at the museum. The 31 cookies were baked by resident Mona Jacobson and then decorated by the students with the help of teachers Amy Laws and Amber Yates.

The historical society also held a raffle during the gingerbread contest to raise funds for the museum. A handmade lamp by Vernon Culver was won by Rob Mandzille, Jim Conlin won a "tea for two" basket and Trish Stauffer won a "for the birds" basket.

The gingerbread contest is the one time the museum is open during the winter months. Museum volunteers thanked all the visitors and the participants for their help. The museum is now closed for the winter and will re-open on Mother's Day 2020. The next season for the museum will highlight a look back at the 1960s.