Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Santa Barbara County has set up a colorful display at Christmas in the Country, which runs through Jan. 3 at the Santa Maria Elks/Unocal Event Center. 
A live nativity scene is part of the Christmas in the Country display. 
The Santa Maria Recreation and Parks Department is a key partner in the Christmas in the Country at the Santa Maria Elks rodeo grounds. 
A CalPortland truck is covered in lights and patriotic spirit at Christmas in the Country in Santa Maria. 
Christmas in the Country has multiple lighted displays along the route, including an appearance by Bumble Snowman from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.
With coronavirus precautions canceling traditional holiday events, Christmas in the Country rallied to light up the holiday season with a twist on a parade.
Instead of people watching colorful floats parade along Broadway, those entries and several others have filled the Santa Maria Elks/Unocal Event Center, 4040 S. Highway 101, as carloads of visitors travel along the route extending more than two miles.
The holiday light experience opened Friday night and will continue Wednesdays through Sundays each week through Jan. 3.
Visitors will embark on a drive-through holiday light event at the rodeo grounds with displays by Elks Recreation and the Santa Maria Recreation and Parks Department, along with others presented by local businesses, organizations and families.
“We’re going to continue to add lights throughout the holidays,” said Tina Tonascia from Elks Rec. “It’s just a great opportunity for families to be able to get out of their houses in a COVID-safe environment. Hopefully, they’ll enjoy it.
“The feedback we’re getting from families is the kids love it.”
Most holiday events, including annual parades, cannot occur due to public health orders barring large gatherings.
Christmas in the Country lights up just weeks after the rodeo grounds hosted another first-time event, Haunted Hills for Halloween.
“We went from haunted to holiday overnight,” Tonascia exclaimed.
While the Halloween event focused on delivering frights, Christmas in the Country aims at creating festive feelings.
Interactive displays, minus the zombies and chainsaws, remain a part of the experience.
A live nativity scene, sponsored by St. Joseph High School, has an assortment of animals, including some — camels and water buffaloes — not usually found at the rodeo grounds.
“They did a tremendous job with that,” Tonascia said.
A sugar plum forest display will have ballerinas performing on a stage along the route some nights.
Multiple miniature Christmas trees and other decorations line the road, with one site transporting visitors to the North Pole and Polar Express — technically the Santa Maria wine trolley posing undercover for the season. Another area boasts a snow tunnel.
The event also includes “Stuff the Stocking” to bring awareness to pediatric cancer, with stocking proceeds going to the Golden Circle of Champions. That program raises awareness of childhood cancer and provides financial support to families dealing with the disease.
Health and safety protocols remain in place with masks worn and other state and county guidelines followed.
Tickets are $40 per vehicle and are sold — only online — for various times each night. Click here to purchase tickets. It is recommended that tickets be purchased as soon as possible.
Coffee, hot chocolate and doughnuts will be available for purchase with orders taken at the cars and delivered.
Spearheaded by the Santa Maria Elks Recreation to keep the holidays alive, other organizers include the Santa Maria Recreation and Parks Department and the Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.