Let There Be Lights!––

Tree Lighting/Luminaria Launch Date Is Friday, December 5

By Dottie Evans

Ask longtime Newtown Chamber of Commerce members Diane Johnson and Janet Woycik how long the town has been putting on the Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony and luminaria display down by the Ram Pasture, and their response might surprise you.

Instead of announcing in unison that it has been “exactly 19 years and counting,” the two good friends are more likely to stop what they are doing –– which would be counting luminaria candles and boxing up coiled light strands –– and exchange mutual blank stares.

Then, laughing, they would reply as they did on Monday morning, while working alongside a team of volunteers in the old Booth Library boardroom: “We aren’t sure, but it seems like we’ve been doing this forever.”

“Forever” has added up to nearly two decades during which the Chamber of Commerce and the Newtown Parks and Recreation Department have worked together, coordinating volunteers who each year take it upon themselves to organize approximately 3,000 luminarias and candles for the annual event. They are also responsible for distribution of the luminaria kits to all 125 families that live along Glover Avenue, Elm Drive, Main and Queen streets.

Another yearly job is making sure the tree lights light. To ensure that they do, the volunteers check and replace hundreds of bulbs on the strings that will be raised in the Ram Pasture tree very soon. This will happen, not coincidentally, on November 15 –– the same day that a bucket loader is on hand to take the old strings down.

“That’s one way we can save money,” explained Diane Johnson.

All this elaborate preparation is targeted toward one midwinter night’s glorious display throughout the center of town and around the Ram Pasture, which will take place this year on Friday evening, December 5.

When the signal is given and the giant spruce tree at the corner of Elm Drive and Hawley Road is “turned on,” its silhouette will no longer look like a hulking black shadow against the night sky. Instead, the 75-foot spruce will be ablaze with white lights that sparkle across the Ram Pasture, and are reflected in the waters of Hawley Pond.

If it is a good year weatherwise, the tree lights and the luminarias will shine even brighter against a surrounding blanket of snow.

“I do remember that last year was just perfect –– the best we’ve had in a while,” said Janet Woycik.

“It wasn’t raining or blowing and it wasn’t that cold, but there was snow falling. It was so beautiful,” she added.

No matter what year they are talking about, the target has always been the same –– to light all the holiday lights between 5 and 6:30 pm on the first Friday in December.

On this one night, homeowners throughout the center of town come out their doors to start their luminarias burning, townspeople gather around the big Ram Pasture tree, the long light string is finally plugged into the nearby fuse box, and another holiday year is celebrated.

Whether it is the nineteenth or the ninetieth time Newtown residents have done this, no one is counting. It’s a beloved tradition and no one wants to miss it.

“For that one night, the whole center of town just glows. The candles only last six to eight hours,” said volunteer Darlene Jackson, so the Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony is a fleeting moment to be savored.

To keep the tradition alive, many Newtown organizations and businesses contribute time and materials: Luminaria boxes were designed by Curtis Packaging Company; electrical contractor Stan Perrone and tree expert Dan Dalton assist in the tree lighting; sand for the luminarias will be provided by the Parks and Recreation Department; and the candles are provided wholesale by Newtown Hardware Store. In addition, the Newtown Chamber of Commerce will be conducting its annual appeal for residents to send in donations for the lights and luminarias to honor and remember friends and loved ones.