Santa's Sleigh Ride wraps up busy weekend

There's Santa's sleigh ride - the one celebrated for bringing gifts to children on Christmas Eve - and then there's "Santa's Sleigh Ride" - the one that occurs each year after Thanksgiving in Bradford County.

In the Northeast Bradford area, the latter came to a halt at the end of the day Sunday as three days of buying and selling ended.

In Bradford County, "Santa's Sleigh Ride" is a self-guided tour of craft and artisan shops. Every year right after Thanksgiving, the shops get together and hold open houses at the same time for the Ride, and shoppers travel from one to another looking at specialized items, many handcrafted. It's part shopping spree, part ride through the country.

This year, there was a new stop on the three-day tour that began Friday as Studio C (The Glass Shed) off Route 187 in Rome was added. Glass jewelry, wine bottle trays, and specialty scarves and handbags were some of the wares people could browse there.

Owner Connie Sharer was pleased to be part of the tour. "This is my first year of being on Santa's Sleigh Ride. It was very successful, I feel. A lot of nice folks have stopped by." She said business was good.

"I think it's good for the area. Everybody seems to be having a good time on the Sleigh Ride." She was selling a lot of glass pendants. She said both local residents and people from out of the area were shopping.

LeRaysville Cheese Factory was also taking part, and some new cheeses, one aged five years and one aged six years, were available for tasting.

At the factory, Judy Kisner of the Rome area was one of the customers tasting the cheeses. After tasting the six-year one, she said it was "excellent" and "very tangy."

The business has a new owner, Milton Repsher, Jr., and his wife, Tiffany Repsher, was on hand Sunday. She said they were busy for the Sleigh Ride, and was also telling customers about the factory's new Web site, which can be found at www.leraysvillecheese.com on the Internet.

"I think it's phenomenal," she said of the Sleigh Ride tour. "I think it's great for small businesses to get involved with Santa's Sleigh Ride."

"People seem to very much enjoy the cheese factory," she added.

Here is the complete list of participants in this year's Santa's Sleigh Ride and some of their products, according to the event Web site: The Country Goose Studio, LeRaysville - featuring "nature-inspired creations;" Gibbs Garden Center, LeRaysville - wreaths, flowers, decorations; The Parish House, LeRaysville - lunch, crafts; LeRaysville Cheese Factory; Genevieve's, Windham - glassware, linens; Endless Mountains Cabin Maple Syrup, Rome - maple products, candles, wooden and quilted gifts; Antler Ridge Winery, Rome; Studio C, Rome - glass jewelry, scarves, handbags, Danielle and Co.; Wilmot's Apple -n- Spice, Rome - jams, jellies, ornaments and wreaths as well as maple items from Beckwith Maples and hand-painted products from Lil Bit of Country; Abell Productions, Rome - wooden items including toy boxes, rocking horses, storage chests; Rainy Day Knit -n- Sew, Rome - quilted items, candles, dolls, soap; Back Achers Farms of North Rome - goats' milk soap, woolen items, maple gift baskets, organic foods; Pickering Winery, Rome; Cook's Ceramics, Rome - ceramics, crocheted and sewn items, bird houses; Elmo's Crafts, Karen's Doll Clothes, Rome - wooden toys, doll furniture and chests as well as pewter, rocks and jewelry and clothes for American Girl Dolls; Hearthstone and Sue Belli Knits, Orwell Township - dried flowers, wreaths and ornaments as well as knitted hats, mittens, baby blankets.

Eric Hrin can be reached at (570) 297-5251; e-mail: reviewtroy@thedailyreview.com.

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