Coupeville is the very picture of Christmas

"Mussels steaming, behind Toby’s bar.Sea gulls nipping at your nose.Christmas lights, blinking bright, along Front Street tonight,Classic homes, opened up and all aglow ... With its annual greening — and a list of Christmas activities that grows each year — Coupeville is becoming Whidbey Island’s picture book Christmas townAll it needs is snow. Real snow. This year Christmas in Coupeville will kick off in earnest on Dec. 4, with a townful of activities, and continue right through the holidays.And before its over, especially if it snows, you might catch a glimpse of how small town America used to look during the holidays.Saturday, Dec 4:It’s Greening Day, when merchants throughout the town deck their storefronts with fresh fir boughs and white lights.Coupeville Mayor, Nancy Conard, is also asking residents along Main and Front streets to decorate their homes in a similar fashion — boughs and white lights — to recall the style of Victorian times.At 4 p.m., the Christmas parade starts out from Coupeville High School and continues on Main Street towards downtown. The parade ends at Cooks Corner at 5 p.m., where the town tree will be lighted for the first time this season.Christmas carols will be sung and holiday cider will flow.At 5:30 p.m., a flotilla of festively lighted boats from the Oak Harbor Yacht Club will parade past the town.At 7:30 p.m., Coupeville will host another art walk along Front Street and most of the merchants in the area will keep their doors open. The Gallery on the Wharf will launch its holiday art sale.Dec. 4 & 5The Coupeville Recreation Hall will host a two-day crafts bazaar.Dec. 4, 5, 11 & 12Santa and Mrs. Claus will be receiving guests at the Island County Historical Museum in Coupeville from 1-4 p.m.Dec 11Christmas Home Tour - Five private homes in the heart of Coupeville’s historic district will be open to the public for tours from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.Included in the tour are the Gould House, at the corner of Ninth and Gould, which has never been shown before; the Blaine and Julie Kuykendall house at Broadway and Madrona which is in the process of being remodelled; the Anchorage Inn and the Cottage on the Cove bed and breakfast inns; John and Mona Deremiah’s house, the original Methodist manse, at Prairie Center and Ninth; and Dave and Roxallane Medley’s home on Madrona Way. The houses will be decorated in their best Christmas trappings, and all are within walking distance of each other.Susan Vanderbeek will serve tea and cookies all day at the Oystercatcher Restaurant, in the center of Coupeville. Tickets are $15 and can be picked up the day of the tour at the ISland County Historical Museum, located at the corner of Front and Alexander streets.To purchase the tickets, contact the museum at (360) 678-3310, or by mail, at P.O. BOx 305, Coupeville, WA., 98239.All proceeds will benefit the Island County Historical Society and museum, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting and preserving the history of Whidbey Island. • In addition, the museum will be featuring a new exhibit, “Waterways to Highways,” Fridays through Mondays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. throughout the winter. The exhibit highlights the history of transportation of Whidbey Island, from canoes and waterways to bridges and highways.Now if only it snows. Really snows. "

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