The town’s longest running holiday event — the lighting of a tree at Ram Pasture for the holidays — will again open a weekend of holiday events in Newtown.

The 34th Annual Ram Pasture Tree Lighting event is scheduled for Friday, November 30. All ages are invited to the corner of Elm Drive and Hawley Lane for festivities that will include singing, dance performances, the arrival of Santa and Mrs Claus, light refreshments, and the lighting of a pair of trees to symbolically welcome the holiday season.

The entertainment will begin at 6:30 pm. The trees will be lit at 7.

The Borough of Burgesses voted this week to become a co-sponsor of the long-running event. The board joins The Chamber of Commerce of Newtown and Newtown Parks & Recreation Department in sponsoring the holiday celebration.

While the event does have those three sponsors this year, donations are also accepted to help offset the cost of materials.

Continuing a longstanding tradition, donations of $10 are again being accepted to sponsor a bulb on the trees at Ram Pasture or a luminaria that will be among the hundreds that line Main Street, Sugar Street, Glover Avenue, and Elm Drive on November 30.

Checks should be payable to The Newtown Chamber of Commerce, and mailed to the Chamber c/o Edmond Town Hall, 45 Main Street, Newtown CT 06470. They can also be delivered to the Commerce office within the former town hall building. The office is on the main floor, and has a drop slot that items can be put through if the office is closed.

Checks should be accompanied by a note indicating the name of the donor, the person(s) being memorialized or honored, and whether a tree bulb or luminaria is requested for the honoree. 

In addition to luminaria boxes being distributed to home and property owners along that route, all residents now have an opportunity to purchase luminaria kits that will mirror those being used to lead crowds to Ram Pasture on November 30.

Luminaria kits — sturdy cardboard boxes with cutouts in the shapes of a tree and a star, with clear plastic protecting the cutout spaces and one plumber’s candle per box — are $3 each. Each candle burns for eight to ten hours, according to tree lighting volunteers.

Diana Johnson, a longtime member of the Tree Lighting Committee, said this week the luminaria kits have multiple uses beyond the night of the tree lighting.

“They make great hostess gifts, and they create very good lighting so Santa can find homes on Christmas Eve,” she said November 14.

The kits are available at C.H. Booth Library, 25 Main Street; Newtown Hardware, 61 Church Hill Road; the office of The Newtown Bee, 5 Church Hill Road; the Newtown Parks & Recreation office, 3 Main Street; and Sal e Pepe Contemporary Italian Bistro, 97 South Main Street.

For additional information, contact the Chamber of Commerce at 203-426-2695 or chamber@newtown-ct.com, or visit newtown-ct.com.