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Neighbors | Zack Shively.The Lighting of the Village event began at Poland Town Hall at 4:30 p.m. The event started with horse drawn carriage rides sponsored by the Poland Rotary and The Inn at Poland Way.
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Neighbors | Zack Shively.The Poland Junior Women's Club and Poland Village Council organized the Lighting of the Village event on Dec. 2. They had the Holy Family Youth Choir, pictured, and the Poland Seminary High School Jazz Ensemble perform at the event.
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Neighbors | Zack Shively.The Poland library had crafts for children to complete during the Lighting of the Village event on Dec. 2. On one side of the room, they made Christmas ornaments. On the other side of the room, they made gingerbread men in mugs of hot cocoa.
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Neighbors | Zack Shively.Children could mail letters to Santa during the Lighting of the Village. Santa arrived via fire truck to the event, and children lined up to meet him. Pictured, Alex Miller sat on Santa's lap.
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Neighbors | Zack Shively.Mayor Timothy Sicafuse started a countdown around 7 p.m. for the Poland swim team to light the tree. The mayor also thanked the Poland Junior Women's Club for organizing the event.
By ZACK SHIVELY
The Poland Junior Women’s Club had the ninth annual Lighting of the Village at Poland Town Hall on Dec. 2.
The Women’s Club worked closely with the Poland Village Council to organize the event. They set up a series of events at Town Hall and at the Poland library across the street.
Leah Wilson, a member of the Poland Village Council, said the council wanted to “carry through the tradition.“
The outside area around Town Hall had been decorated for the holidays. The Town Hall building and the gazebo outside had Christmas bulbs and wreaths placed on them. The groups placed fire barrels around the lawn to keep people warm throughout the night.
The event began at 4:30 p.m. at Town Hall with complementary cookies and hot chocolate drinks from the Women’s Club. The horse drawn carriage rides began at this time as well. The Poland Rotary and The Inn at Poland Way sponsored the carriage rides.
The Holy Family Youth Choir performed classic Christmas songs in the gazebo at 6 p.m. The Poland Seminary Jazz Ensemble played after the choir. Music played on speakers inside the gazebo outside of those performances.
Santa arrived a little after the Holy Family choir began to sing. He arrived in a fire truck and sat for photos on the Town Hall porch. Families took pictures with Santa and could also give letters to him during the event.
Events at the library occurred at 5 p.m. The library set up two crafting tables for children to make between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. Their two crafts included creating a Christmas ornament and a gingerbread man in a mug of hot cocoa.
Librarians Karen Steed and Amanda Koller oversaw the crafts. They later had a story time and sing-along for the children at the library. Steed, who is trained in American Sign Language, taught the children some holiday related signs.
Kravitz Deli and the Friends of the Library Bookstore remained open during the Lighting event. Kravitz Deli gave away free hot cocoa and had a special holiday menu for the event including hot dogs and cookies. The bookstore sold their books at half-priced during the weekend of the event.
Mayor Timothy Sicafuse arrived at the gazebo at 7 p.m. and spoke about the great job that the Women’s Club did to organize the event. After a few words, Sicafuse did a countdown to light the Christmas tree in front of Town Hall. Varsity Swim Coach Rachel Emerson and the swim team lit the tree.
Music continued in the gazebo and a number of families remained for some time after the lighting of the tree. The carriage rides continued until 8 p.m. Children continued to play in the lawn as they had done for hours before the lighting.
The Poland Junior Women’s Club and the Poland Village Council partner together for this event every year. Hundreds flock to the event every year and they entertainment throughout the night.