By Michael P. Walsh
Special to the Voice
Santa and Mrs. Claus accompanied Mayor Nancy R. Rossi and a trio of special guests to light the Christmas tree on the Green at the city’s annual holiday kickoff Nov. 26.
After arriving in the West Haven Fire Department’s 1935 Mack pump firetruck, Santa and Mrs. Claus were escorted to a portable stage on the Main Street side of the Green by the West Haven Seahawks cheerleading team to the sound of applause and shouts of glee from several hundred merrymakers.
Before the lighting, radio personality Brian Smith, the master of ceremonies, thanked and praised the guest trio — a Notre Dame High School executive, a University of New Haven staff member and a UNH senior political science major — as the all-ages crowd clapped and cheered.
Rossi then wished people a merry Christmas and helped Smith lead them in a countdown to set the tree — and the Green — aglow.
The guests recognized onstage were longtime city resident and Notre Dame Executive Vice President Kathy Wielk and UNH Assistant Director of Residential Life Kaitlyn Burras and Undergraduate Student Government Association President Saniyah Brinney.
The four-hour festival opened with the national anthem sung by Donna Travis and followed with performances by the West Haven High School dance team and Top Hat Dance Academy, the latter directed by Sharon Minnix.
It featured performances by the Indonesian Angklung Community led by Dabar Ratupenu. More than a dozen members of the musical group each played part of a holiday classic on an angklung, an Indonesian instrument made of a varying number of bamboo tubes attached to a bamboo frame, with each musician playing a single note.
The annual event was presented by the city, ArtsWest CT, the First Congregational Church and West Haven United, an organization aimed at bringing the city’s volunteer groups together.
DJ Sonya played holiday-themed music while costumed Christmas characters and Victorian-clad carolers entertained families around the downtown park.
The Yuletide festivities included an inflatable Santa’s village and craft stations on the 5-acre Green, where children decorated wooden ornaments, wrote letters to Santa, and made cards for U.S. troops overseas and those at the West Haven VA Medical Center.
The Christmas tree and a smaller evergreen tree were adorned with fluorescent-colored lights and ornaments made by the Bailey Middle School Interact Club and the UNH Rotaract Club. The trees were decorated by the Bailey and West Haven High interact clubs.
Garland adorned with white lights decorated The John C. Ireland Bandstand, and Victorian lampposts bedecked with angels blowing on trumpets illuminated the walkways.
The decorated park also included inflatable attractions that youngsters went in and had pictures taken.
Before their long sleigh ride back to the North Pole, Santa and Mrs. Claus greeted children and posed for snapshots.
Just steps from Santa’s workshop, boys and girls dropped off wish lists at St. Nick’s official U.S. Postal Service mailbox.
West Haven United held a paper chain contest and awarded prizes. Shoreline Wellness Center gave out informational materials.
Along with hayrides, kids rode in a vintage West Shore firetruck provided by Baybrook Remodelers Inc.
People brought nonperishable items for the West Haven Emergency Assistance Task Force, which provides food for residents in need.
Volunteers from First Church sold chicken tenders, french fries, hot dogs, coffee and cookies, and volunteers from West Haven United sold hot chocolate, water and prepackaged snacks.