Newtown To Light Up The Season With A Weekend Of Celebration

By Steve Bigham

Newtown will ring in the 2000 holiday season in style this weekend with a full slate of events in and around historic Main Street.

It all starts Friday night with the 16th annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony at Ram Pasture sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce and Parks & Recreation. The event begins at 6:30 pm as people gather in the area near Hawley Pond.

And, once again, the center of town will be aglow in lights as Main Street, Elm Drive, and Glover Avenue are lined with luminaria, setting the mood for celebration as few sights can. As always, the ceremony will feature carols from the Newtown High School band and choral group, refreshments, and a visit from Santa Claus.

Newtown Police will close off traffic to all cars some time between 5:45 and 6 pm so parking will be limited. Cars can park near the Dickinson Park pool. Bus driver Bob McCullough will be transporting people to and from the tree.

And what holiday season would be complete without a trip to the Rotary Club’s annual pancake breakfast Saturday in the Alexandria Room at Edmond Town Hall? Rotarians will be on hand to flip flap jacks from 8 am to 2 pm.

The Parks & Recreation’s annual “Breakfast with Santa” will be Saturday, December 9, in the middle school cafeteria.

On Sunday, the 15th annual Newtown Holiday Festival will be from 11 am to 5 pm on and around Main Street (see Enjoy section this week for more details). This event features a walking tour of Main Street and area historic homes, businesses, and churches decorated for the holidays. The festival includes antiques and craft shows, ballet and other musical performances, Victorian Tea, New England Café, and The Festival of Trees (silent auction). Be on the lookout for strolling musicians and an assortment of town criers dressed in top hats and coats.

Other events include Saturday’s holiday concert by the Newtown Chorale Society at 7:30 pm in the Newtown Meeting House, 31 Main Street. Earlier in the day, the Meeting House will be the site of the annual Greens Sale put on by the Garden Club of Newtown from 9 am to 2 pm. Visitors can choose from an assortment of wreaths, swags, kissing balls and Colonial-style fruit-covered ornaments, poinsettias, and baskets arranged by members. Newtown resident and garden author Sydney Eddison will be signing copies of her book, Self Taught Gardener.

Also on Saturday, Ashlar of Newtown at 139 Toddy Hill Road will hold a holiday craft fair and bake sale from 10 am to 3 pm in the Ashlar lobby.

Children looking for something to do should head to the Cyrenius H. Booth Library Saturday from 10 am to 2 pm for a Christmas ornament-making program. The event is free and the ornaments will be placed on the library’s second annual Christmas tree.

Speaking of the kids, they’ll want to be at the offices of William Pitt Real Estate at 13 Church Hill Road Sunday from noon to 3 pm as Santa and his reindeer will be on hand.

Also on Sunday, the Newtown Historical Society will hold its annual holiday open house at the 18th century Matthew Curtiss House-Museum at 44 Main Street from 11 am to 5 pm. The Newtown Garden Club has festively dressed the house with traditional decorations reminiscent of holiday celebrations of years gone by. Guides in period costumes will offer informative tours of the house.

After that, you may want to head up to the library where Newtown resident and notable children’s author/illustrator  Stephen Kellogg will be signing books in the children’s reading room from 2 to 3:30 pm. Mr Kellogg recently released Give the Dog A Bone and re-released The Missing Red Mitten and The Baby BeeBee Bird.