New London Holiday Stroll celebrates 28 years

New London hosted its 28th Holiday Stroll over the weekend, filling its streets with Christmas music, bubbles drifting through the air and Disney Princesses posing for photos with those braving the cold for holiday festivities.

On Saturday, Dec. 8, from 5 to 8 p.m., attendees could find a clown making balloon animals, the crowning of the Ice Prince and Ice Princess and hot food served by vendors.

One such vendor was Kathie Rice, who was in charge of the baked goods that made up over 50 pounds of sweets she and her sister made to sell during the stroll. Traditionally, her mother, Sharron Phillips, runs the booth, but due to health issues she missed the last Holiday Stroll and put her daughters in charge this year. Rice was put in charge of baked goods and her sister made the candies. They started baking on Monday.

'It's all new to me, this is my first year because growing up my mom never let us help her,” Rice said. 'Now we could frost cookies and wrap caramels, but we couldn't touch her candy; so she had to come up and save me a couple times (this year).”

Rice's stand was housed in Events on Main, a hall which can be rented out for baby showers, birthday parties, receptions and the like - for the stroll they hosted some of the vendors and offered those strolling a place to sit.

'This is our third year,” said Deana Boecker, who owns Events on Main with her sister, Tonya Callas. 'We've been in New London all our lives. I've attended since my very first stroll and now I get to be a part of it.”

Nearby, retired grade-school teacher Jeannie Fedler ran a make-and-take booth where people were able to make holiday wreaths out of cloth.

'They pick out three stacks of fabric,” said Callas. 'I teach them how to make (a wreath), and they can go home and make it on their own.”

Assembling the wreathes takes about an hour when the fabric is pre-cut. Callas has been spending the past few evenings cutting fabric for the event.

'This is my first year doing a make-and-take here, but I've been making these and donating them for about three years,” Callas said.

She learned how to make them from the New London Care Center's activity director at a community serivce event she attended shortly after she retired.

Other events included magician Steve Parker, a cake walk at the Danville Bank and a petting zoo held in the local fire station and sponcered by Hometown Vet.

'We always come to the petting zoo,” said Brandi Jonson, a local who has been coming to the event with her family for the past seven years.

Up the street from the petting zoo chili was served by the New London Preschool, and hot chicken sandwiches and chicken biscuits served out of the Dover Museum.

Karen Brown served sandwiches out of the museum and has for roughly a decade.

'It's all done on a voenteer basis; the council asked us to do it and it's a special thing we do,” Brown said. 'We've been here a long time.”