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Revamped holiday traditions growing popular in Brighton
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BRIGHTON — A Christmas tree lighting ceremony, visit from Santa and the Grinch, and a small lighted parade in Brighton Dec. 7 marked a handful of growing traditions for the small town in Washington County.
The free festivities brought holiday cheer to dozens of kids, who turned out to meet Santa, get photos with the Grinch, watch the lights flip on for a tree in the city park, and eat their share of cookies, decorated by hand.
While Brighton held seasonal get-togethers before, its chamber of commerce started pushing a bigger, flashier tree-lighting ceremony and Santa visit three years back. Volunteers said its growth into Saturday night’s list of festivities was a win for the community, where many families used to travel out of town for wintertime events.
“Look at all the kids in this room, having fun,” Heather Mattocks-Orr, one of Santa’s helpers, said. “It brings Santa closer, it brings that Christmas magic a little bit closer.”
Organizers said the night was finally starting to feel like a tradition, after a few years of buildup.
“There was a cookies for Santa, or with Santa … but nobody hardly knew about it, and no one came four years ago, very few people came,” said Candy Shadden, a highly involved volunteer who was suspiciously never seen in the room as Mrs. Claus. “What we have here, for such a small town, this is amazing, and the kids really get into it.”
Saturday saw a new tradition introduced to the lineup: volunteers put together a lighted parade to roll through town, with Christmas lights and decorations decking out recreational vehicles, a trailer and a barrel train.
Connie Blosser-Emry, an organizer and member of the Brighton Chamber of Commerce said the parade was an effort to bring the seasonal cheer to seniors, disabled residents, and anyone else unable to leave their homes Saturday night.
“We’re going to go down all the streets, just so they can have a little part of it,” she said. “It started from somebody, one of the shut-ins, saying that they didn’t think they’d be able to see the train or the lighted stuff, so we just made it possible for them.”
Blosser-Emry later said the lighted parade was a major success, adding that organizers planned to repeat it next year.
Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com
