Santa Claus, huge crowd ushers in holiday season locally
Page 4 • Wednesday, December 5, 2018 • The Hammonton Gazette
TREE, from Page 1
ances by Dance Magic Dance Stu-
dio and Paul Morris’ DanceXplo-
sion, vocal performances from
actors from The eagle Theatre,
Hammonton High School (HHS)
graduate and classically trained
vocalist zach Taglioli, the Warren
e. Sooy Jr. (WeS) elementary
School Choir, the Hammonton
Community Choir, HHS’ Select
Choir and an energetic and bois-
terous reading of Clement Clarke
Moore’s classic Christmas poem,
“A Visit from St. Nicholas (‘Twas
the Night Before Christmas),”
from Hammonton resident and
theatre actor Richard Curcio to
welcome the arrival of Santa
Claus.
each performance was intro-
duced by Councilman Thomas
Gribbin, who returned as master of
ceremonies. Gribbin said he looks
forward to hosting the event each
year because of the jovial atmos-
phere it creates for children and
adults alike.
“it’s really an event that really
does bring out the whole commu-
nity, but it brings out the kids of
our community, which is a great
thing. i know my girls love it, and
i love to see all of our friends
bring their kids out. They really
get excited for it, and to be a part
of that makes it a lot more special
for me—just to see the smiles on
our faces,” Gribbin said.
Resident Tara Pyfrin attended
the tree lighting ceremony with
her two sons, continuing an impor-
tant, long-running family tradition.
“it’s the magic of Christmas and
the spirit that it brings to the be-
ginning of the Christmas season;
that makes it so special,” Pyfrin
said.
At 7 p.m., the audience’s excite-
ment reached a fever pitch when a
firetruck wrapped in colorful
Christmas lights arrived on Cen-
tral Avenue with Santa Claus him-
self standing on top while he was
serenaded with a chorus of “Santa
Claus is Coming to Town.” Santa
made his way through the crowd
to step up on to a platform in front
of the town Christmas tree and
flipped the switch after a 10-sec-
ond countdown.
Many families flocked to the
newly-gleaming tree to take pho-
tos and marvel at its appearance.
Before heading back to the North
Pole, Santa visited the Wells fargo
Bank located adjacent to the tree,
where children lined up to share
their Christmas wishes.
The festivities continued for
several hours after the tree was lit
and expanded throughout down-
town Hammonton, including
groups of Christmas Carolers
walking down Bellevue Avenue,
horse and carriage rides that
picked passengers up at the Ham-
monton family Success Center, a
live nativity scene on the lawn of
St. Joseph High School that was
organized by Victory Bible
Church and more.
The Historical Society of Ham-
monton (HSH), whose museum is
located across Vine Street from the
live nativity scene, also joined in
on the fun by hosting a Christmas
See LIGHTING, Page 8
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