Casa del Pomba
House of the Dove
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Casa del Pomba House of the Dove |
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News Bulletin January 29, 2009 Electronic Count: Deacon Dave announced that 33,041 persons walked thru the Gates of the House of the Dove. The Electronic Count does not include children in arms nor the very large number of people who drove by to see the Christmas Lights and not walk thru the property. The Electronic counter shoots a beam of light across the walkway of the Exit Gate. When the beam is broken by a person walking thru it a count is registered. Record Take Down: Jeanie Haigh of Deacon Dave’s Planning Team announced that the Christmas Buildings are all down. The Christmas Lights are not only down but tested, wrapped and all stored in the Light Tower. The miles of extension cords are rolled, wrapped and hung in the “Cord Bldg.” The front gardens are currently being raked, pruned and restored to the pre-Christmas Landscaping. However Jeanie stated that the Deacon is currently packing the Christmas decorations inside the residence. 20 of the 40 Christmas Trees are down and the mammoth Christmas Village in the front window is down and packed away. This is all in record time. Web site Record: We are very pleased that over 8,000 people visited the Casa del Pomba web site: www.casadelpomba.com This is an increase from last year. It seems more and more folks are interested not only in Christmas but other information on the web page. The web page continues as an on-going project. One person E-mailed to say that he viewed the web page for over an hour and his wife enjoyed the Recipe Section. This too is an on-going project when the Deacon has time to add to the section. Deacon Dave has his maternal grandmother’s recipe books and is gradually adding to the section. His mother also is quite the cook and Deacon is beginning to add her recipes to the section. Deacon Dave’s Christmas Trees: We will soon be adding photos of this years Christmas Trees inside the House of the Dove and also the Chapel of the Holy Spirit. Did you Know: Did you know that Deacon Dave has paid Teens during the Christmas Season (that we are opened to the public) who sweep the curbs on the weekends from Pomona Way to Compton Ct. on both sides of the Street. The guys perform this task to pick up litter that may be generated by the visiting public. This practice has gone on for years. Display Building Go Modular: Christmas Building over the next few years will go up much faster due to advance planning. Deacon Dave announced that the Long Building that stretches along the driveway will be Modular from now on. It will go up in sections and come down in sections and be stored the same way. Also slated for Modular building will be the two building on both sides of the exit walkway. This will be built this summer. The Deacon stated that it is impossible to build the very front building or the front of the year around Gazebo because of the fact that those two buildings are built very differently dependant on the Theme for the year. The Deacon and his team expect that eventually the buildings will go up faster and begin putting them together later in the season. Something to watch for? Successful Christmas Display: We continue to receive favorable E-mails, letters and comments from those who visited the Christmas Display. Deacon Dave’s Christmas Team is already planning Christmas 2009. See you then. Remember we are always in need of volunteers to join in the fun. Closing Ceremonies: The 2008 Christmas Team of volunteers gathered around Deacon Dave as he closed the Christmas Display with a “thank you” to the team and then prayed a blessing on all those people of all faiths who walked through the Gates of the House of the Dove. As the recorded Bells rang out, the music of Silent Night played as the Flag was slowly lowered and slowly the 301,000 Christmas Lights began to go off. The one remaining light was a Dove Candle of the Most Holy Spirit. This last light of the season will lead the Christmas 2009 Procession for the opening ceremonies. From the Deacon: God bless the 2008 Christmas Planning and Christmas Team for all their many hours of dedicated work and spirit in making the Christmas Display at the House of the Dove so special for so many visitors. We thank the Mayor of Livermore, the honorable Marshall Kamena for addressing the opening 2008 ceremonies. |
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