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Lighting event at park attracts many residents
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Boardman Park’s first Christmas tree is lit during the township’s annual holiday light-display event
BOARDMAN
“Ho, ho, ho” met “hey, hey, hey” at Boardman Park’s Community Christmas Tree Ceremony.
This was the park’s first Christmas lighting ceremony with a tree — an 11-foot Fat Albert Colorado Blue Spruce. For the past 15 years, the park has organized a holiday light display.
The Fat Albert cartoon character’s catch phrase is “hey, hey, hey.” Though Fat Albert was there in tree-spirit only, Santa Claus visited Sunday’s event, arriving on a township firetruck to the delight of many in the crowd of about 400.
When Madison Kromer, a 3-year-old from Boardman, heard the firetruck’s sirens, she knew right away it could mean only one thing.
“Santa’s coming! It’s Santa! It’s Santa,” Madison said as she went to see him with her parents, Kelley and Andy Kromer.
“She understands Santa this year, which is why we came,” her mother said. “She’s really excited to see him. Her eyes lit up when she saw him.”
In addition to Santa, the tree and other lights throughout the park, about 20 families and groups decorated trees near the park’s main entrance on U.S. Route 224.
All of the decorations were made from food so the animals in the park can eat them.
Evanna and Kirk Nagy of North Lima, along with their kids, Gaven, 5, and Gianna, 2, decorated a tree with Evanna’s longtime friend, Colleen Nagy (no relation) of Columbiana, and her 4-year-old daughter, Ella.
The tree included “a little bit of everything,” Evanna said. “We have bagels, apples, cranberries, corn, popcorn.”
“We like to do things in the community, and this is a lot of fun,” Evanna said. “We’re having a great time.”
So were Gaven and Ella as they threw popcorn and corn kernels at each other while decorating. Both agreed that throwing food was their favorite part of the event.
Lisa Jones of Leavittsburg’s Girl Scout Troop 80827 brought 10 members of her troop with her to decorate a tree.
“The troop made the decorations, and we are having a lot of fun,” she said.
Mara Kujala, 8, a troop member, said, “I like that our ornaments can be eaten.”