Millerton’s Townscape — a winter wonderland

MILLERTON — The decorated windows of the shops on Main Street, the scent of coffee, the hum of excitement as the movie theater lets out, the buzz of people around Veterans Park, and the sight of people sitting at the diner behind fogged windows: All of it turns magic beneath thousands of winking Christmas lights.

Millerton’s Townscape, working with Stafford Trees for the seventh year running, has wound  700 and 800 strands of lights — 16,000 lights in all — across the village.   

Under the leadership of Jeanne Vanecko, Townscape keeps the village vibrant throughout the seasons — it is responsible for the flowers in Veterans Park and on Webutuck Bridge, and the benches and tables in front of the park along Main Street.

Come wintertime, the lights go up in November, and remain for the rest of the season. Up until a few years ago, the lights were draped on trees on Main Street, but some of the pear trees on the south side had to be taken down. They were replaced by Townscape, but the saplings were — and still are — too small to support the lights.

The logical solution was to put the lights on the storefronts, and Townscape said the merchants have been generous in helping to make the display happen each year.

In a few years, when the new trees are strong enough to support the lights, both trees and buildings will be decorated; the new trees even have electrical outlets at their bases, ensuring that Millerton remains a winter wonderland of twinkling lights.