HOWELL – The Township hosted its tree lighting ceremony to kick off the Christmas season. Citizens and families of Howell gathered together singing Christmas songs, playing winter/Christmas-themed holiday games, drinking hot cocoa, and eating cookies, all before Santa Claus visited them by arriving on a fire truck.
The event featured several performances by various musical groups from Howell High School and the Memorial Elementary School fifth-grade chorus, who sang Christmas songs to get event attendees into the holiday spirit.
One of these musical groups that performed was the Howell High School Band. They played well-known Christmas songs such as “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” and “Joy To The World.”
The Howell High School Band is directed by Dr. Anthony Limaldi, who spoke about what it means for him, his program, and the students to be able to perform at an event like this.
“It is just a great community outreach for us, it’s great for the kids who perform, and it’s great for the kids in the audience,” he said. “It gives them a sense of self-worth, it contributes to them being a part of a community, to be able to perform for people like this. It helps give them a sense of community.”
Other musical groups from Howell High School who performed included their a a cappella choir, the “Rebelation.”
The event featured several games for kids as well. These included a Christmas-themed ring toss, a snowball toss (which is similar to an axe throw), and a yule-themed version of whack-a-mole.
Cookies, coffee, and hot chocolate were free for eventgoers. The cookies were bought by some of the organizers of the event, while the coffee and hot chocolate were supplied by The Caffeine Haven, which is a local business whose storefront can be found right off of Route 9, near Georgia Tavern Road.
More people gathered throughout the evening. After about an hour of getting into the Christmas spirit, Howell Township Council member Evelyn O’Donnell got on the loudspeaker to start the countdown. After 10 seconds, the trees in front of the hall lit up as patrons cheered.
However, the night was not done after that, as Santa Claus still needed to make his arrival. Fake snow started to fall, as families began to sing in anticipation of his arrival. Then, through the trees, several fire trucks were seen moving out of the fire station, which is right next to the town hall. As the fire trucks seemed to get closer, the singing got louder and louder, until they turned the corner to reveal Santa Claus sitting on top, waving to the crowd.
The first truck would park right in front of the town hall, allowing Santa to step down and walk through the crowd of people. Santa slowly made his way through the crowd, talking to families before wrapping up and heading inside the building.
Just like that, the holiday season was kicked off in Howell.
