Lights On Lima was held Friday night in Downtown Lima. This free family event brought the community together to kickoff the Christmas season! Family fun and activities too! The Lima Fire Department hangs the annual tree downtown each year and Lights on Lima will bring the tree to life!
Richard Parrish | The Lima News
LIMA —Around 1000 people showed up at Lima Town Square to view a holiday tradition, brought to the community by a new partner.
Lights On Lima, put together by Downtown Lima Inc. and Woof Boom Radio, picked up the mantle of lighting the Christmas Tree at the center of the city after the Flip the Switch event, which had been held for eight years, was unexpectedly canceled.
“Tonight we were able to light the Christmas tree in the downtown which is a tradition here in our community,” said Mayor Sharetta Smith, who read a proclamation prior to the lighting of the tree. “It was great to come out and see all of the citizens, young and old to celebrate the start of the holiday season. And so I want to thank Downtown Lima Inc. and Wolf Boom and all of our other sponsors for making tonight happen.”
Executive Director of Downtown Lima Inc. Betsy Billingsley said that she was extremely impressed with the turnout and that the credit went to the work put in by community partners including the radio station, nearby businesses and the departments of the city, especially on such short notice.
“It was just kind of a quick turnaround for us so we just called a bunch of our community partners and everybody jumped in,” she said. “It was just really great to get everybody to come on in and light the tree together.”
Among the things that stood out to parents such as Jessica Tata were the appearance of Santa Claus, face-paint and treats like cotton candy and popcorn.
“We actually had the day off work and they’re Santa stalkers,” said Tata, who had never been to see the tree lit before. “We had a really good time.”
“I got three kids and they love stuff like this: the crafts, face-painting and the popcorn and cotton candy,” said Daniel Cheney. “It’s just a good time for us to get out of the house and have a good time.”
And everybody was able to take away a warm message from the event, despite the chilly weather.
“It’s nice to be out here with people you know and see them all enjoying themselves this Christmas Season,” said Dennis Shepherd, who brought his neighbors with him and his wife for the first time.
“I would just ask everybody, as we go into the holiday season, to remember that this season is about caring for one another, giving up oneself to help one another and that we are community,” said Smith.
“There are a lot of great things happening downtown,” said Billingsley. “The downtown is for the community. We want everybody in the Lima region and area to know that we’ve got a lot of stuff happening down here. And this is just the beginning of our holiday season.”
And true to her word, Downtown Lima’s next event will be the holiday festival next Saturday.
Reach Jacob Espinosa 567-242-0399.
