Diana Johnson, Amy Mangold, John Moore, and Janet Woycik, four members of the Ram Pasture Tree Lighting Committee, met Tuesday morning, October 21, to discuss the changeover from open flame candles to an alternate light source for the nearly 2,000 luminarias that light the town during the annual celebration.

This year, said Ms Johnson, glow sticks will glimmer from within the packages lining Main Street, Glover Avenue, and all around Ram Pasture and Hawley Pond, December 5.

“We have finally been able to locate glow sticks bright enough to be seen through the beautiful packaging Curtis Packaging donates to us,” Ms Johnson announced.

The fire marshal has requested that the committee find an alternative to the candles for several years, she said. In previous years, they have attempted to do so, but have failed to find lights bright enough to illuminate the luminarias adequately.

The one caveat of the glow sticks, said Ms Johnson, is that they are green.

“But,” she said, “green is a Christmas color,” and she hopes that residents will embrace the change.

For the past five years, members of the Parks & Recreation Department have gone out at 10 pm on the night of the tree lighting to extinguish any candles still burning in luminarias all over town. There have been incidences of luminarias tipping over and catching on fire, eliciting calls to the fire department, she said. Lighting the decorative bags with glow sticks will eliminate the potential fire hazard, and should it be a rainy evening, the lights will not be extinguished.

The glow sticks may present a bit of a challenge to residents putting out luminarias, said Ms Johnson, but with a little muscle the sticks can be cracked and lit. Directions will be included with all luminarias provided.

This year, Parks & Recreation employees plan to set out the luminarias at 3 pm, December 5, and light the glow sticks then. By the time a crowd gathers around the Ram Pasture evergreens for the 6:30 pm entertainment and 7 pm tree lighting, a gentle green glow will be cast across the pasture and throughout the center of town.

“We think this will work out just fine,” said Ms Johnson.