Old Town Clovis will showcase its family-run businesses and kick off the holiday season in style Thursday with its annual event One Enchanted Night.
Local businesses will open up their doors and serve refreshments all in the Christmas spirit from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. during the event.
One Enchanted Night will encompass Pollasky Avenue between 4th and 5th streets. Old Town Clovis will be transformed into a winter wonderland where participating merchants decorate their stores for Christmas and different musical acts fill the air with Christmas cheer.
This is the ninth year the event is being hosted in Old Town Clovis. Event coordinator Carole Lester said the event is basically a business appreciation night for the businesses in the area.
“It helps our merchants get the word out to their customers to remind them to remember their products and services and gift items,” Lester said. Most merchants will have refreshments available and their own musical entertainment for their customers.
Bank of the Sierras will sponsor the event for the fourth time and will serve hot chocolate on Pollasky Ave.
One Enchanted Night will take its guests back in time with horse-drawn carriages and Model-A car rides. Granite Path Carriage will give free carriage rides throughout the night. One carriage will even give free rides every Saturday and Sunday starting after Thanksgiving until December 23 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
The Central Valley Model-A Club and Early Ford Club will also line the streets with their cars. “It gives a vintage flare to the night,” Lester said.
The musical acts that will perform at this year’s event include Great Dames Quartet, Jubilation Singers, Gold Notes Chorus, Voices United, Ovation Girls Choir and Clark Middle School’s Sottovoce.
Sottovoce is composed of select seventh and eighth-graders from Clark. The choir attended One Enchanted Night for nearly six years in the past and won’t miss out on the fun this year. Tami Spurgeon, choir instructor at Clark Middle School, said the students love this event. “It’s a way to kick off the Christmas season in my mind,” she said.
Lester said this event encourages people to shop downtown this year during the holiday season. Old Town Clovis is composed of primarily small, privately owned businesses, so when people shop at these stores the money stays local.
“Old Town Clovis is one of the few towns left in the Central Valley that is thriving. It’s like stepping back in time to the days when a community’s downtown area was the heart of the community,” Lester said.
Old Town Clovis prides itself on its variety of family-run businesses. There are a variety of stores”” antique shops, boutiques, restaurants, sports shops, an ice cream parlor”” none of which are chain stores.
One Enchanted Night is an all-ages event. There are many attractions for a family-oriented crowd, but it’s a good way for college students to socialize and do their Christmas shopping as well.
Fresno State student Annette Ewy said she is looking forward to bonding over food and drinks.
“It’s great for people in Clovis to take advantage of the wonderful downtown area that probably gets forgotten the rest of the year,” Ewy said. She was attracted to the cozy environment offered by One Enchanted Night.
“I think it’s a great way for local businesses to get exposure and become better acquainted with their customers in a less business-oriented atmosphere.”
Lester looks forward to the event to kick off the holiday season.
“All in all, it’s a night to come out and see Old Town Clovis at its finest.”