Payson Roundup | Payson, AZ

Dec. 23 Friday

• Genealogy Library: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., 302 E. Bonita, Payson

• Payson Public Library: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

• Pine Library: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

• Rim Country Museum: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., 700 Green Valley Pkwy.

• Pine/Strawberry Museum: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Pine Community Center

• American Legion Fish Fry: Noon-8 p.m., American Legion

Dec. 24 Saturday

• Genealogy Library: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., 302 E. Bonita, Payson

• Pine Library: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

• Payson Public Library: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

• Rim Country Museum: Closed

• Pine/Strawberry Museum: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Pine Community Center

• Book signing: 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., Carole Mathewson will be selling and signing copies of her book, adapted from her play, “The Hostess of Providence” at Bootleg Alley Antiques & Art

Brush pits closed

The Regional Payson Area Project... for a Fire Wise Rim Country (RPAP) free brush drop-off points at Blattner and Pine Pits will be closed for the next two weekends so staff can have the Christmas and New Year’s holidays off.

The brush pits will reopen Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 7 and 8, weather permitting.

Book signing Saturday 

Local writer Carole Emma Mathewson will be available from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Christmas Eve, Saturday, Dec. 24 to sign copies of her one-woman, one-act play “The Hostess of Providence.” The signing will take place at Bootleg Alley Antiques & Art, 520 W. Main St., Payson. 

Priced at only $6, the setting of the play is Providence, R.I., in the year 1703. The play’s narrator is a seventeenth-century forebear of Mathewson. Written in 1985, Mathewson presented the play on stage at the time. The recently published book is a revision of the original work. 

The book, which is also available at Todd’s Books, can be found online as a Kindle Edition through Amazon.com, where it is priced at 99 cents. 

Payson United Methodist Church

The Payson United Methodist Church Christmas Eve Service is at 5:30 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 24 and will feature special music. There will be only one service on Christmas Day at 10:30 a.m., Sunday, Dec. 25. The pastor invites the congregation to come in their pajamas.

Payson United Methodist Church is at 414 N. Easy St. (behind Ace Hardware).

First Assembly Candlelight Service

The community is invited to attend a Christmas Eve Candlelight Service at Payson First Assembly of God, 1100 W. Lake Drive (by Green Valley Park), from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 24.

Reminisce with old-time carolers and the congregational carol sing and enjoy special music presentations including PFA Kidz. Join the congregation for an evening of remembering why we celebrate Christmas. All will be followed by a “Taste of Christmas” fellowship and gifts for attending children.

Dec. 25 Sunday

• Rim Country Museum: Closed

• Pine/Strawberry Museum: Closed

• Free Christmas dinner: 2 p.m., Pine Community Center

Free Christmas dinner offered in Pine

The second annual free community Christmas dinner hosted by the Senior Center Affairs Foundation will be at 2 p.m., Christmas Day Sunday, Dec. 25 in the Bruce Thompson Dining room (behind the Thrift Store) at the Pine Community Center.

Call (928) 476-2151 or (928) 476-4633 to reserve a place.

Dec. 26 Monday

• Payson Public Library: Closed

• Rim Country Museum: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., 700 Green Valley Pkwy.

• Pine/Strawberry Museum: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Pine Community Center

Dec. 27 Tuesday

• Payson Public Library: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

• Pine/Strawberry Museum: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Pine Community Center