Instead of his traditional sleigh, Santa Claus’ preferred mode of transportation on Monday night was the Town of Rochester’s new bright and shiny yellow fire tower truck, complete with lights blazing and siren sounding.
At the annual Rochester tree lighting ceremony, hundreds gathered on the green to witness the seasonal spectacle of the lighting of the tree in front of Town Hall. The Rochester Memorial School Band and Chorus were on-hand spreading Christmas cheer with songs like Jingle Bells and Deck the Halls as the kids played tag and climbed trees waiting for the arrival of the guest of honor, Saint Nick.
Later in the night, guests enjoyed cookies, cocoa, and cider, all donated from various area businesses.
Selectman Naida Parker thanked not only those responsible for the successful event, such as the Highway Department and the Police and Fire Departments, but also Town Administrator Michael McCue who made some emergency cider-seeking trips earlier that day due to an apparent shortage of cider in the area.
McCue thanked Administrative Assistant Amanda Baptiste for her decorating of Town Hall in preparation for the event.
Lighting the tree this year was RMS fifth-grade student Arianna Vinagre who won the annual Christmas poster contest at Town Hall. The lights didn’t turn on at the expected instant, eliciting a collective disappointed “Aaaw…” but a second later the white LED lights lit up the night eliciting one giant “Yay!”
This was the first time the Town switched to using energy-efficient LED lights for the event.
By Jean Perry
