The square in Roosevelt Center filled up with over 150 people this past Friday for Greenbelt’s annual Christmas tree lighting.
This is the first year that the Christmas tree lighting has been held at Roosevelt Center, according to performing arts program coordinator Chris Cherry. Past lightings have been on the lawn of the community center, where mud and water were often concerns.
Cherry said there was “lots of wonderful teamwork between Parks and Public Works.”
The permanent trees in the square at Roosevelt Center were all lit with thick lines of white Christmas lights. Les Stampfer, the city electrician, said the setup is more energy efficient, despite using more lights, thanks to the lower electricity needs of new LED Christmas lights versus the incandescent bulbs used in the past. Plus, the lights were plugged into the lampposts in the square, which causes them to automatically shut off during daylight hours.
Brian Townsend, the city’s horticultural supervisor, said of the Christmas tree and decorations, “It all came together real nice.” He said the tree will be replanted sometime in the spring in the Greenbelt Dog Park. His hope is that it will be reused in future dog-related holiday events in the dog park.
Santa was dropped off at 7 p.m. by a blaring firetruck.
The gathered crowd swarmed around him as soon as he stepped of the truck as excited children cried, “its’ Santa, it’s Santa.”
Mayor Emmett Jordan met Santa at the opposite end of the square where a short platform held the Greenbelt Concert Band.
When Jordan addressed the crowd, he said how wonderful he thought it was for people to be gathered here, celebrating the holidays together. “It’s just a really beautiful thing,” he said.
He thanked the Merchants’ Association, the Public Works Department, and the Recreation and Parks Department for their work towards making the event a success.
Jordan then led the crowd in a countdown to the lighting. The tree lit up right as the crowd shouted “zero!”
After the lighting, Jordan said he thought it was a fantastic idea to move the event to Roosevelt Center.
Mayor Pro Tem J. Davis said she thought there was a nicely sized crowd and that she felt a lot of people had come out this year to see how the change of venue affected the event.
Volunteers from the Greenbelt Zero Waste Initiative were at the event helping make sure that trash, recyclables, and compostables were placed in their proper bins. One volunteer, Yasmeen Brooks, a resident of Laurel, said she liked the event and said, “Hopefully we’ll see this in Laurel.”
Susan Harris, an attendee, said, “I’m really happy it’s here in Roosevelt Center.” She and her friend Annie Shaw, both adults, said they were looking forward to the free showing of “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas” at the Old Greenbelt Theatre later that evening. The theater filled up quickly.
The three Miss Greenbelt winners served cookies provided by the Merchant’s Association, sporting their sashes and crowns. This is the first year that the Roosevelt Center Merchants Association has been involved in the Christmas tree lighting.
Miss Greenbelt, Alisha Karley, said, “I think this is a wonderful event that brings the community together.” Katherine Larkin, Little Miss Greenbelt, agreed and Junior Miss Greenbelt, Allison Beatrez, said she thought the event was very well put together.