Festival of Lights electrifies Millerton

MILLERTON — The annual Festival of Lights filled the Village with holiday spirit on Friday, Nov. 25, with a daylong schedule of events that reached a high point at sundown with a tree lighting and a jubilant parade of fire trucks and floats.

Hundreds of spectators began to line the streets as the five o’clock hour approached, gazing down Main Street to the intersection of Routes 44 and 22 for the first sign of the procession.

Shortly after 5:30, the first of a long line of holiday festooned fire trucks and floats made the turn onto Main Street — and the big tree was lighted up.

Children scrambled to collect the candy treats that were tossed from the floats as parents kept a close eye on all the goings-on.

The day was a paradise created for children. At 10 a.m., Jeff Scarpa began an ice sculpture in Veterans Park. An hour later, more than 250 children and parents filled the lower two theaters at The Moviehouse for a free screening of “Polar Express.” The crowd overflowed to upstairs seating.

In the afternoon, a children’s raffle was held in Veterans Park where bicycles, scooters, gift baskets and gift certificates were offered by local businesses.

“It’s nice to be so normal,” said Dana Scarpa of Designer Finds, who also served on the Millerton Festival of Lights Committee. “There is a nice feeling of home today. It’s so wonderful,” she said, recalling the past pandemic impact.

Others who served on the committee are: Jeremy Boviard, general manager at The Moviehouse; Dana Rohn of Montage Antiques; Erica Recto of BES Ceramics and Nichole Reyes of Milieu Consulting.

Hot cocoa and cookies were offered at Veterans Park in the afternoon by the Salisbury Bank, which handed out coloring books to children.

There were free hayrides.

Holiday music was provided by the Salisbury Band, which played its “Christmas Brass” repertoire as mothers, fathers, grandparents and children strolled along the sidewalk, popping into a busy Irving Farms for a hot drink or wandering into the shops to check out Black Friday sales.

The North East Community Center became a mecca for children who decorated their own cookies—often to be immediately eaten—as a two-man band outfitted in Santa garb played and sang for them.

Townscape, a nonprofit, volunteer-based organization, installed the holiday lights along Main Street and on the large fir tree at the intersection of Routes 22 and 44. Its board is responsible for the lights and a  task force of  Jeanne Vanecko,  president, and board members Mitra Walter and Claire Goodman supervised lights and decoration, which is paid for by  local business and individual donations. The annual event draws parade-goers from nearby towns and Northwest Connecticut.

Kate Mellon of Lakeville came to see the festivities with her family and wandered into the pop-up woodcrafts sale in the Irondale Schoolhouse. John Roccanova, a retired technology teacher at Webutuck School, was there selling  items he crafts to benefit the nonprofit Grow Against Poverty that supports education projects in Kenya.

The day came to an end with the parade, and featured fire companies from Millerton, North East, Millbrook, Copake, Canaan, Falls Village, Lakeville and Sharon.

And as the parade was in full swing, the wail of sirens and flashing of lights, combined with the smiles and waving arms from people young and old riding past on the floats — as onlookers beamed back their approval — the mood was set. Everyone loved the parade.

Fire trucks came from nearby towns and Connecticut.  Photo by Olivia Valentine