The 2020 Festival of Lights is underway now, in spite of the pandemic, using a virtual and socially distant approach. This includes the traditional Art and Craft Fair, as well as several other citywide events.
The Juried Art and Craft Fair is being held online through December 20. Shoppers can participate by using greenbeltmd.gov/craft. For those interested in a free at-home craft workshop, appropriate for all ages, go to greenbeltmd.gov/recreation to register.
At Roosevelt Center, the trees and hedges have been decorated with hundreds of lights and a traditional live tree will be set up and decorated. Mindful of the need to maintain social distance, there will not be a public lighting ceremony of the tree and no prior announcement of the lighting of the plaza this year. Arts Supervisor Nicole DeWald said, “starting in mid-December, residents are encouraged to enjoy the lights and the tree during solitary strolls or from their car windows as they do a drive-through along Centerway.”
The North Pole Calling event will return this year unchanged from previous years. As reported by DeWald, this is “a long-standing event that brings magic and fun during the holiday season.” Parents are encouraged to obtain and submit a North Pole Calling form via the city website. On December 15 to 17, Santa and his helpers will make a special call to chat with each child. This is a free event for children in preschool through second grade.
In place of the usual Nutcracker dance production entitled The New Deal Nut: A Greenbelt Nutcracker, the online Nutcracker-To-Go program is being offered instead. Aimed at children ages 3 to 8, Program Director Angella Foster said that “the idea is to bring the magic of the Nutcracker right into your living room in a new, fun and interactive format.” Each class, which runs from December 14 to 18, 4:15 to 5 p.m. via Zoom, includes learning choreography from the long-standing show and making daily crafts with a Nutcracker Fun Kit. Participants will be able to access recordings of each class and of last year’s production “so they can keep dancing throughout the holiday season,” added Foster. Registration remains open with some slots still available.
A new video program from Greenbelt Recreation, entitled Light Up the Night with Hope: A Celebration of Music and Sharing, will debut in the Virtual Recreation Center on Saturday, December 12. Musical performances will feature the Eleanor Roosevelt High School Gospel Choir and Women’s Chamber Ensemble, Greenbelt Recreation’s Creative Kids Camp and Greenbelt vocalists Amanda Sorenson and Aidan Larkin. There will be a segment entitled A Candle in the Window, which is a poignant succession of clips showing Greenbelt staffers and community service personnel placing a lighted candle in the windows of their respective facilities and waving to viewers, adding that the program also highlights how Greenbelt responds to neighbors in need, focusing on three programs that address food insecurity. DeWald said, “the aim is to assure the community that all Greenbelt institutions and facilities are keeping watch through the pandemic and looking forward with hope and confidence to welcoming everyone again.”
This is the 48th year of the Festival of Lights, which began in 1972.