By Michael P. Walsh
Special to the Voice
The ceremonial lighting of West Haven’s Christmas tree on the Green will herald an evening of merriment Saturday.
The holiday festival will commence at 4 p.m. with the national anthem sung by Grace Kelly Nowak and Christmas favorites performed by instructors, students and a choir of 20 singers from The Rock House School of Music.
The annual event is presented by the city, the First Congregational Church of West Haven and West Haven United, an organization aimed at bringing the city’s volunteer groups together.
Although last year’s public tree lighting was postponed because of the coronavirus, Mayor Nancy R. Rossi surprised residents with a virtual lighting just days after the announcement.
This year’s event will feature costumed Christmas characters and Victorian-era carolers entertaining families around the Green.
The four-hour festival will also include an inflatable Santa’s village and four craft stations on the Green, where children can make marshmallow reindeer ornaments, decorate wooden ornaments, write letters to Santa, and make cards for U.S. troops overseas and those at the West Haven VA Medical Center.
The festivities will continue at 5:30 p.m. with performances by the Top Hat Dance Academy.
At 6 p.m., Rossi will greet revelers from a portable stage on the Main Street side of the Green. The West Haven High School cheerleading team will then escort Santa and Mrs. Claus to the stage, where they will join Rossi and her special guests to set the tree aglow.
Santa and Mrs. Claus will arrive in the West Haven Fire Department’s 1935 Mack pump firetruck.
Immediately after the lighting, The RumRunners will perform Yuletide classics until 8 p.m. Before the holiday concert, lead singer John Mamone will serve as the master of ceremonies.
West Haven’s official Christmas tree is flanked by two smaller evergreen trees that will glow with fluorescent-colored lights.
Huge electric snowflakes will decorate The John C. Ireland Bandstand, and Victorian streetlamps bedecked with angels blowing on trumpets will illuminate the walkways.
The decorated Green will include an inflatable snow globe and other inflatable attractions that youngsters can go in and have pictures taken.
Before returning to the North Pole, Santa and Mrs. Claus will meet children and pose for snapshots until 8 p.m.
Just steps from Santa’s workshop, boys and girls can drop off wish lists at St. Nick’s official U.S. Postal Service mailbox.
Along with hayrides, kids can ride in a vintage firetruck from the West Shore Fire Department. For a $5 fee, they can also ride on the Roaming Railroad, a trackless train sponsored by West Haven United.
Most of the activities are free, but people are asked to bring nonperishable items for the West Haven Emergency Assistance Task Force, which provides food for residents in need.
Volunteers from the First Congregational Church will sell burgers, hot dogs, cookies and decorative chocolate bars, and volunteers from West Haven United will sell popcorn, hot chocolate and soda.
If it rains, the lighting will go on at 5 p.m. Monday.