Andy Ross sent in the following photos and write-up about the recent tree-lighting ceremony in Wooster Square.
On the evening of Friday, December 4th an official tree lighting ceremony came to the park at Wooster Square. The new event for the area’s residents may become an annual holiday celebration.
“For years and years there has always been a lighted tree on the park in the same location,” explained Beverly Carbonella (at center in photo), President of the Wooster Square Historic Association which organized the event. “But this was first official tree-lighting ceremony for Wooster Square.”
The seven-foot tall evergreen may be modest in stature but it now stands proudly draped in traditional multi-colored Christmas tree lights at the top of the park on the Chapel street side alongside the Christopher Columbus Monument.
Elsie Chapman (at right in photo), a board member of the group, decided to organize the neighborhood residents because it is a wonderful opportunity to gather, mingle, and meet one another while sharing the feeling of a close-knit community.
To be sure, the Wooster Square neighborhood is always doing something where neighbors can get involved and experience an authentic hometown spirit. Among other successful events, there is the annual springtime Cherry Blossom Festival which celebrated its 36th year in 2009 and Soup for Sundays — a weekly Sunday evening soirée that runs from November through March.
Soup for Sundays involves neighbors hosting soup parties featuring a choice of two homemade soups in an open house setting. Participants are only required to bring their own bowl. The Saint Andrew’s Italian Festival is a neighborhood staple in the summertime, and Wooster Square also has a successful year-round Farmer’s Market and an active Block Watch.
All of these kinds of gatherings make the area brim with community pride, and the exciting tree-lighting ceremony was no exception.
As Wooster Square Historic Association board member Bonnie Rosenberg (at left in photo above) observed, “Folks seemed to be meeting and greeting neighbors that they hadn’t previously known. I especially liked seeing all of the babies, kids, and dogs that were having fun romping in the park around a lit tree while drinking warm cider, munching on cookies, and singing. It was a warm and fuzzy evening all around.”
Diana Karwan is pictured with baby Will with dog Darwin.