Willow reindeer are lit up along Highway 395 in Minden on Thursday night.
Photo by Kurt Hildebrand.
Willow Bill’s Reindeer Project is alive and well and is calling upon all reindeer from Douglas, Carson and Washoe Counties to light up Northern Nevada.
“Douglas County lights up better than anyone,” said Willow Bill. “If everyone lit their lights, it would be unbelievable. Let’s come together and light it up.”
For more than 20 years Carson City resident William “Willow Bill” Goulardt has guided the Reindeer Project, helping nearly 50,000 children across three counties create willow reindeer always with academics and fun mixed in with his lessons.
“The lessons of building a willow reindeer are peppered with math problems, spelling, geography, and more,” Gouldart said in a previous R-C article. He has been known to sprinkle in life lessons, passion, memories and friendships into the projects too.
His lessons and displays are always looked forward to by students, teachers, families, and tourist who visit Northern Nevada during the Christmas season.
Even through the coronavirus and battling colon cancer the last few years, Willow Bill did not stop.
He said he went to schools upon teacher requests and set up workshops throughout the community, just to keep the tradition alive.
“I am not a business,” he said. “I am a father, and I am not going to stop making a difference and making people smile.”
A workshop to make reindeer with Willow Bill was Friday in Carson City.
“I encourage the community to light up the reindeer, let’s light up 395 brighter than ever,” said Willow Bill.
