| Santa and Frosty lit up the park. |
Lights On draws crowd
Lots of chattering teeth and misty puffs of breath accentuated Helper’s “Lights On” ceremony last Friday night.
Hardy citizens and visitors, many of them elementary school age, braved the frosty temperature and gathered at the Rio Theatre to participate in a candlelight procession to Senior Park.
About 50 participants fought the wind to keep their candles going long enough to get to the park and gather to watch the entertainment and hear Mayor Mike Dalpiaz sound the call for the town to come alive with Christmas lights.
The choir from Sally Mauro piled on to the stage and got the ceremony pumped up with some rocking Christmas tunes, including an ode to a “boogie woogie Blitzen.”
Once the crowd was warmed up a bit, Dalpiaz invited all grandchildren, well the little ones, at least, to mount the stage and in unison they sent out the command to “turn on the lights.”
Within seconds the town was ablaze with sparkling holiday spirit. The park, the buildings all created a movie-moment spectacular.
The grandchildren’s work wasn’t quite done, they then issued a loud warm welcome to Santa, who was on his way.
His appearance wasn’t as instantaneous as the lights, but it made its own splash of the night.
Riding in a sleigh pulled by a pickup truck, instead of “boogie woogie Blitzen,” he pulled up in front of the auditorium and then sprinted inside to hold court with all his fans.
The line was long but the attitude held its spirit as the small ones waited their turn.