Christmas on the Wild Side

Whether it is guiding little hands as they place gum drops on gingerbread houses or artfully arranging a hand-me-down Nativity scene, embracing community at a candlelight church service or desperately seeking serenity as the clan flies cross-country to visit the in-laws, there are no other tradition-makers quite like the holidays. But while most Christmastime traditions are focused on giving praise, giving back, or giving in to children’s whims, the orderly and, at times, stressful aspects of the holiday season can pile up with little sign of relief. Mardi Gras is two months away, after all.

Tradition doesn’t have to mean routine, however—especially in Louisiana—and this month, three locals gleefully bring back customs of their own; ones that, like pouring whisky into eggnog, spike the serious side of Christmas by adding a dose of wild, even irreverent, fun.

*

OFF TO THE RACES

Ebenezer Scrooge Memorial Reindeer Race, Jackson

“This time of year can get heavy,” said Jim Hendrickson, a civic leader in Jackson, Louisiana. “We all need to have a laugh and cut loose.”

Those laughs start with a blindfold at the Ebenezer Scrooge Memorial Reindeer Race, which Hendrickson, the race’s “O-Fish-al,” founded along with former neighbor Dave Brock nine years ago.

The decorated reindeer are miniatures, saddled under riders (dubbed SERs, or Sleigh Executive Riders) who are pushed by their blindfolded partners (MIs, or Motivating Individuals) through a course set up on Charter Street near town hall in downtown Jackson. The only directions the MIs have are those they can manage to hear from their SERs over the shouts of hundreds of spectators as they careen through the obstacles and dodge foam snowballs hurled by competing teams and a battalion of children. They used to race on toilets with wheels. It’s that kind of event.

“We started racing in wheelchairs, then we tried toilets,” Hendrickson recalled. “The toilets were a little too irreverent.”

Held December 13 at 3 pm, this rampant race is officiated by Hendrickson and his sidekick, O-Fish-al Go-fer Allen Saltus, and is made up of more than a dozen invited teams, usually elected and municipal officials, who are gunning for trophies and bragging rights. The race brings the communities of East and West Feliciana parishes together like nothing else during the holidays. “We just want to get locals out for a good time,” Hendrickson said. “You might be embarrassed a bit, but everyone has fun in the process.”

Walking into the mayor’s office in Clinton, Louisiana, what first catches the eye is a gleaming trophy from the Reindeer Race. Mayor Lori Ann Bell keeps the award (earned when her team placed first in last year’s race) on display for all visitors to see.

It’s an example of the strong bond between Clinton and Jackson, she said. Also, she’s unabashedly proud of her victory.

“The holidays are all about family enjoying one another, and there’s strength in unity,” Bell said. “The Reindeer Race shows that.”

After successfully riding and giving directions to her partner last December, Bell said she is already prepping to defend her title this month.

“Honestly,” she said, “it was the most fun I’d had in years.”

Cherished by families and mayors alike, what once was a mere curiosity for forty spectators has grown into a meaningful regional celebration.

Details. Details. Details.

Ebeneezer Scrooge Memorial Reindeer Race
Saturday, December 13
Jackson, La. 
For more info call (225) 634-7951.


NOT YOUR MAMA’s WREATH
Eccentric Wreath Exhibition and Raucous Wreath Auction, Abita Springs

Curiosity happens to be John Preble’s business on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain. And business is good. His Abita Mystery House is home to a vast array of found objects, arcade games, oddball collections, and eclectic ephemera from years gone by. There’s even an exhibit called the House of Shards—which is not nearly as frightening as it may sound.

Preble’s roadside attraction is a fun house of American folk art, and each December it manages to get even more bizarre with the arrival of the Eccentric Wreath Exhibition and Raucous Wreath Auction. Held December 20, the auction will see dozens of wildly themed, homemade wreaths sold for charity—some for as much as $250.

Local artists from Mandeville, Covington, and surrounding areas choose their recipient charities and create wreaths with any and all materials they can imagine. Some participants, like sign maker David Kelsey whose vintage-inspired work has appeared in O Brother, Where Art Thou? and JFK, are renowned artists who let their creativity loose remixing one of Christmas’ most traditional designs.

Red and green toilet bowl brushes double for ribbons. Platoons of little green army men sub for holly. There are spoofs and satires; and there’s always a play on words. “A-wreath-a Franklin” is a favorite.

“It’s about finding the fun in Christmas; and everyone, the artists included, have really embraced it,” Preble said. “If we can raise money for local charities, then it’s more than worth it.”

For one night, Preble opens his exhibition hall to the public, visitors gather around a vintage piano for carols, and bidding starts on bawdy door decorations that might make grandma’s eyes wider than sugarplums.

“My job’s to get the energy up in the room, which isn’t too difficult,” said architect Ron Blitch, who serves as auctioneer. It was never a role he lobbied for, but Blitch says calling the auction is a gig he relishes each year.

“I was told I was doing it,” he said. “Like a lot of things in Abita Springs!”

Blitch has purchased a sizeable collection of his favorite wacky wreaths, too.

“As an architect, what I’m looking for is an interesting use of materials, the shape, design, and color,” Blitch said. “But what I like best is that this is a great community event, and it is for a good cause.”

Details. Details. Details.

Eccentric Wreath Exhibition and Raucous Wreath Auction

December 20 at Abita Mystery House

22275 Highway 36, Abita Springs, La.

(985) 892-2624 • abitamysteryhouse.com

LISTEN TO THE LIGHTS
A Christmas Light Spectacular, Pride

If the Raucous Wreath Auction is a symbol of Christmas creativity writ small, one resident of Pride, Louisiana, scales his passion up on the biggest canvas possible: his entire home and expansive yard.

Retired from the Baton Rouge Fire Department, Pierre Rizan goes beyond Griswold, working year-round to build and maintain a dazzling display of Christmas lights, archways, animated figures, and even a talking tree. The show is computer-timed to music and runs for about twenty minutes.

“Some people hunt, some fish—this is my hobby,” Rizan said. “Everything is handmade.”

A lot of houses are decorated for Christmastime, but Rizan’s dedication to detail and time invested in his display is uncommonly inspirational. He spends roughly four months building structures and several more in design and planning phases. “You can’t put this together in two weeks,” Rizan said. “This is what Disney does. The only difference is I don’t have millions of dollars.”

Some of Rizan’s fondest childhood memories are of helping his mother decorate the yard for the holidays. Now he happily spends months in preparation for the families that drive up and park in front of his house night after night each December.

Using a suggested donation box, one year Rizan raised $8,000 for an infant who needed kidney surgery.

Visiting this colorful holiday yardscape has become a tradition for many area families, but it has birthed a new tradition of Rizan’s own. Most winter nights he’ll sit on his porch, watching the cars roll up and their windows roll down.

This is the show he is watching.

“The music is playing, and these kids are happy, and they’ll sing along,” he said. “It’s awesome, brother.”

Details. Details. Details.

Viewable for free at 

16215 Stubbs Road, Pride, La.

Nov. 27—Dec. 31, 5:30 pm–midnight