Festival of Lights
Fun for all at Festival of Lights
By Jennifer L. Saunders
Santa, seen here in a past Festival of Lights parade, is just one of the special guests expected to make an appearance at this weekend's event.
Courtesy photo
YORK VILLAGE - The 14th Annual Festival of Lights is set to begin, and organizers promise this year's event will include all the joy of past celebrations, and more.
Sponsored annually by Old York Historical Society and York Parks and Recreation, the goal of Festival of Lights is to celebrate York and the traditions of the holiday season.
This year, the fun will begin with two Friday evening events to augment Saturday's day-long festival activities: The Polar Express, offered by York Parks and Recreation, and the Messiah Sing, to be held at The Music Hall in Portsmouth, N.H.
Saturday, of course, is the big day, and the festival begins bright and early with Breakfast with Santa and the opening of the Festival of Gingerbread Houses at the York Public Library and the Wreath and Greens Sale at the First Parish Church.
Just a little while later, take a turn along Long Sands Road and visit St. Aspinquid Masonic Lodge for the first Moquin Family Festival of Trees, on display from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Santa will be at the library for free photos from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., an annual "Partners in Sharing" event sponsored by RE/MAX Realty One.
And once again this year, the Winter Wonderland Model Train Village will be on display at York Village Marketplace on York Street, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and the popular Christmas Tea is back again this year at Jefferds' Tavern beginning at 11 a.m., with the final serving set for 3:30 p.m.
Also beginning at 11 a.m., York Public Library will host Continuous Cartoons, a three-hour festival of classic holiday cartoons of varying lengths.
Leading up to the highlight of the annual event - the Festival of Lights Parade - the Crystal Tones will host a sing-along on the steps of the Old York Administration Building at 4 p.m., with the lighting of the village square and the parade set to begin at 4:30 p.m.
This year's lights for the village's trees were donated by the First Parish Church, Old York, York Hospital, Bonnie Hennessy and the Greater York Region Chamber of Commerce.
Following the parade, musical entertainment will be offered at Jefferds' Tavern and the First Parish Church, including some brand new performers to the festival, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. The York Singers will perform at Jefferds' Tavern while the York Middle School Jazz Band, York High School Chamber Singers and the town's new violin ensemble, York Strings, will perform at First Parish Church.
Lynne White McMahon began York Strings last year with a group of second-graders from Village Elementary School. Many of those students, now in third grade at Coastal Ridge, will perform at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, along with this year's new second-grade students.
Also at 5:30 p.m., Santa will be on hand at Jefferds' Tavern for his final local visit until his Christmas Eve ride through the skies.
A variety of community suppers and dessert offerings are also planned after the parade, and many businesses will host special events on Saturday including The Village Gallery, for example, which will be serving free cookies and hot coffee, or cider, to everyone who stops in for a visit during the day, and hosting a holiday reception that evening.
For more details on these and more Festival of Lights events, visit www.oldyork.org.
