As you enter Snow Village, the mayor, Mike Burch, meets you at the door.
Burch is also the fire chief, police chief and the city manager of the village, but wearing so many belts isn’t too hard for the professional contractor who constructs the teeny, tiny village in his garage every year.
This year, the display is open to the public for a small fee as a fundraiser for Support Sedona Firefighters, a nonprofit, promoted by Burch’s wife, Barbara Burch.
Each year, Burch scales over 300 pieces of “Snow Village” on graph paper before laying it out in an 800-square-foot section of his West Sedona garage.
Each building, made to a miniature scale, is a real building somewhere, Burch said.
By Alison Ecklund
As you enter Snow Village, the mayor, Mike Burch, meets you at the door.
Burch is also the fire chief, police chief and the city manager of the village, but wearing so many belts isn’t too hard for the professional contractor who constructs the teeny, tiny village in his garage every year.
This year, the display is open to the public for a small fee as a fundraiser for Support Sedona Firefighters, a nonprofit, promoted by Burch’s wife, Barbara Burch.
Each year, Burch scales over 300 pieces of “Snow Village” on graph paper before laying it out in an 800-square-foot section of his West Sedona garage.
Each building, made to a miniature scale, is a real building somewhere, Burch said.
“I have problems deciding where to put things,” he said, since he tries to change things up year after year. “Maybe I wouldn’t be the city planner.”
Using templates to plan the layout of the miniature houses, restaurants, hotels and offices, Burch laid out the tiny village with a miniature Disney World at one end, mountains and a ski lodge in the back, a drive-in by a diner and hotels nestled around town hall, where a small choir sings on the steps.
He also constructed the
background scenery with painted Styrofoam — this year’s is painted to resemble a pine-forested mountain landscape.
Burch’s collection began in 1994 while skiing with Barbara in Durango, Colo.
Barbara saw some replica village pieces and wanted to buy them, although Burch didn’t want to.
“She won the battle and I won the war,” said Burch, who took on the collection full steam from there.
Department 56, the company that manufactures the collectibles, puts out about eight new pieces for Snow Village a year, according to Burch, who makes sure to get each one.
Burch scours eBay to find the latest pieces or checks retail stores. His daughters love knowing what to get him for Christmas every year.
“I’m easy for Christmas,” he said.
This year, Burch started setting up the display Nov. 1 and plans to take it down mid-January.
He admits that he has a little more leeway leaving it up, since he doesn’t display it in his house anymore.
When not on display, Burch stores his tiny replicas in half
of his garage in numbered boxes.
This is the first year the display has been used as a fundraiser, but Burch thinks they’ll do it every year to raise funds for various charities.
“Kids love it,” Burch said. “That’s what I like.”
Snow Village will be open to the public Thursday through Saturday, Dec. 18 to 20, from 5 to 8 p.m., at 35 El Camino Poquito. The cost is $3 for locals, $5 for tourists and free for kids.
Alison Ecklund can be reached at 282-7795, ext. 125, or e-mail
aecklund@larsonnewspapers.com
