Kottinger Barn transforming into North Pole as part of month-long charity event

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A photo of the Kottinger Barn getting transformed into the North Pole for a month-long charity event, which is slated to open to the public on Dec. 2. (Photo courtesy of Bruce Torquemada)

The North Pole is set to return to Pleasanton for a second year in a row and while the holiday themed transformation of the Kottinger Barn on Ray Street will feature new things like a movie-grade snow machine, flying Tinkerbell and plenty of holiday decorations, the intent of the month-long event will remain the same as last year’s — raise money for charity.

The money raised through parking fees and raffle tickets will be donated to the Pleasanton Police Officers’ Association Charitable Foundation and Pleasanton-based nonprofit Little Miracles, which provides free baby essentials to Tri-Valley parents in need.

“The interest was to raise money for charity, have a place for families to go to that’s a lot of fun,” Bruce Torquemada, owner of the Kottinger Barn and lead organizer of the charity event, told the Weekly.

Inside the barn will be a makeshift Santa’s workshop, a baby pony, a 20-foot yeti and Santa Claus himself so that families can visit and take photos. There will also be a raffle for prizes — which were gifts donated by the surrounding businesses in the Adobe Plaza — food vendors and warm drinks like hot chocolate and coffee.

The charity event, along with the lights and full setup, will begin this Saturday (Dec. 2) and will run until Jan. 2. Parking will cost $10, which includes 10 raffle tickets. Additional $1 raffle tickets will also be sold.

There will also be a separate $10 raffle ticket that will grant you access to an area inside of the barn where there will be wine, cheese and appetizers available. Torquemada will then announce the raffle winner sometime in early January.

After initially purchasing the historic Kottinger Barn — one of the oldest standing buildings in downtown Pleasanton — in 2020, Torquemada worked day and night on restoring the barn.

A look inside the newly renovated Kottinger Barn. (Photo courtesy of Bruce Torquemada)

He had just finished putting in the pavers around the barn in October 2022 when he spoke with a representative from the PPOA who told him the association was in need of money to help fund Shop with a Cop.

That’s when Torquemada decided he wanted to help by decorating the plaza and setting it up as a Christmas experience, where residents bought raffle tickets that were used for prizes and services like food and drinks.

After that first event, Torquemada was able to write a $5,200 check to the PPOA Foundation and donated six boxes of toys to the Toys for Tots program, which is why he wanted to do it again this year.

“We think it’s a great event,” PPOA president Brian Jewell told the Weekly. “We’re definitely grateful for this fundraiser at the barn.”

A photo of the Kottinger Barn patio before the renovations. (Photo courtesy of Bruce Torquemada)

He said the money will go toward the Shop with a Cop event where officers take some Pleasanton kids on a shopping spree. The money will also go toward helping students with scholarships.

Little Miracles will be the other organization splitting the charity money.

“Their generous gesture to give proceeds from the North Pole Kottinger Farm celebration to Little Miracles is both humbling and gratefully accepted,” Melissa Dantzig, one of the co-founders of the volunteer-driven nonprofit, told the Weekly. “They approached us … and we’re just so grateful because of what it can mean to our important work and what it can mean to helping more families.”

Dantzig said that apart from getting publicity and raising awareness for their services, which could mean more people donating items to her second-year organization, the fundraising money from the month-long event would help Little Miracles purchase items that families might need but that are out of stock.

While the holiday-themed transformation will officially open to the public on Saturday (Dec. 2) from 4-9 p.m., Torquemada said he is also excited for the ribbon-cutting ceremony next Friday (Dec. 8) commemorating the official reopening of the Kottinger Barn.

This will mark the end of all the years of hard work Torquemada has put into renovating and restoring the historic building

Torquemada said the reopening is special to him as a longtime Pleasanton resident because he had always wanted to create a community gathering space.

“I wanted a place where people can gather, like in the old days,” he said. “We used to be able to go somewhere and just congregate. That’s what the vision was and for the last two years, that’s what I’ve been trying to develop.”