Lighting of the VIllage Christmas Tree
Washingtonville always shows its true colors when it's time for a celebration, and Saturday's Holiday Christmas Parade for this year was no exception. After a full day of "Whoville" and "Grinch" events throughout the Village, including about 40 craft vendors and food trucks at Main Street's Veterans Square, businesses helping kids write their letters to Santa, Victorian Carolers, roasting marshmallows and warming up at bonfires, the streets started filling up in anticipation of by far their biggest Holiday Parade. A mile-long stream of Fire Trucks in full regalia of decorations came with horns blowing, and volunteer firemen hanging over the sides while waving and shouting "Merry Christmas." They came from as near as Monell Fire Department right down the street and all the way from Goodwill in the Town of Newburgh along with Chester, Highland Mills, Pocatello in Middletown, and on and on. The crowds cheered and children jumped with joy while clapping and chanting "Santa...Santa...Santa!"
Two of the highlights were the Walden Savings Bank Float, which in addition to being beautiful shot cannons of snowflakes into the air that lingered and brought the Christmas Season to life, and the glittering Standback Construction Company Truck, a business that has been instrumental in building and renovation of numerous projects in the Washingtonville area, including the Moffat Library.
After screams erupted when Santa came to light the giant Christmas Tree in McLaughlin Square, Mayor Tom Devinko gave a short speech and did the Countdown. Then Santa flipped on the lights which bounced off the tree decorations that this year included a collection of large holiday balls which had been "adopted" by eager resident participants, who offered significant donations all of which were donated to the First Presbyterian Church of Washingtonville for some needed repairs..
The activities had been a monumental effort of work, coordinated since August by the Washingtonville Events Committee and the Blooming Grove Chamber of Commerce during dozens of meetings, and hundreds of calls and texts to locate and arrange the best crafters, Victorian Carolers and business participants around the region, all the while building their own props, and holding fundraisers to help make it happen. They met numerous times with the Town Supervisor and Village Mayor to assure that the layouts at Veterans Square, McLaughlin Square, Fulton Square and The Lot were as safe and functional as possible and consistent with code in case any problems arose. The Washingtonville Police Department and DPW spent days putting up the decorations, making sure that barriers would keep the crowds safe, and shutting down Route 94 and Route 208 from 5:30 until 8pm for an extra measure of safety. K9 Jax was in the mix of it all with his handler, ready to act if his sniffer detected the slightest potential disturbance.
K9 Jax making sure everyone stays safe
After the tree lighting, the crowd lingered to meet up with friends, party , do a little holiday shopping, and grab a bite to eat while etching into the Village's history another memorable event that stayed true to their motto, "We are better together!"
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