Holiday lights light holiday hearts

AMENIA —  Although the event was postponed twice in recent weeks due to rain, the third time was a charm for Amenia’s annual Celebration of Lights, enjoying perfect weather Friday, Dec. 15, and attracting lots of residents to the town center to see the lighting of the town tree and the awarding of the 2023 Citizen of the Year certificate.

Activities included free hot chocolate provided by Freshtown and warm pizza donated and served by Four Brothers Pizza, where there was a big-screen showing of a fireplace image of a warming fire, and later a double feature of children’s holiday programming.

The honor of 2023 Citizen of the Year was awarded to the late Cindy Dale Snow-Pitts of Wassaic, who died last summer. The posthumous award was given by Town Supervisor Victoria Perotti to Maryanne Pitts, surviving spouse of Snow-Pitts.

Perotti praised Snow-Pitts for her dedicated volunteer service to the town and to local organizations that assist residents when needs arise.

In a brief statement, Pitts said that she was accepting the award on behalf of her wife, as a great honor and with deep love.

“We hope to begin to fill the need that Cindy helped to fill throughout the valley,” Pitts said, indicating the far-reaching extent of Snow-Pitts’ work. Her Bonnie Boxes program, offering gift boxes and hope for those battling cancer, earned her a 2015 award from the Dutchess County Executive Arts Council.

More recently, Snow-Pitts was engaged with collecting and distributing school supplies and toys for children in the Northern Harlem Valley.

Founder of Harlem Valley Arts, foundational to Snow-Pitts’ work in service to her wide community was to identify and fill a variety of needs.

Following the ceremony, the town Christmas tree was lit, soon followed by the annual Parade of Lights put on by the Amenia Fire Company, a procession of decorated fire trucks and all manner of decked-out vehicles.

Although this is a busy time of year for them, Santa and Mrs. Claus were able to appear in the parade, waving to their exuberant fans before returning to the North Pole to complete holiday preparations.