Santa Monica Mountains Visitor Center Hosts First Annual Holiday Sale

Western National Parks Association (WNPA), a nonprofit education partner of Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (SMMNRA), will host its first annual holiday sale at King Gillette Ranch on December 15. Nearly all items in the visitor center will be marked down by 15 percent from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.

“Holiday shopping at the Santa Monica Mountains visitor center is not just
a chance to find unique, artisan gifts for your loved ones,” said Sophia
Wong, manager of the WNPA store. “Since a percentage of our sales are
donated back to park programming, it’s also an opportunity to support your
local national park.”

The bookstore features gifts from less than a dollar all the way to $2,000
for museum-quality Native American baskets. In addition to traditional
bookstore fare such as children’s books and collections on hiking and local
wildlife and nature, Wong says locally produced soaps and bath salts, as
well as Native American jewelry and carvings, are some of the most popular
items.

The holiday sale will extend to a smaller gift shop at Satwiwa Native
American Indian Culture Center in Newbury Park. With the exception of
indigenous arts, all items at both stores will be discounted, some at
clearance prices.

This “premier” WNPA bookstore opened in June, in conjunction with the grand
opening of the Santa Monica Mountains visitor center. Sales are up
significantly since moving from the previous Thousand Oaks location, partly
due to an increase in visitors and partly due to an expansion in size and
merchandise.