Janine Marnien
Santa Claus might arrive in a sleigh on Christmas Eve, but at the
Festival in Lights ceremony, he pulls up in an antique fire truck
with sirens blaring and lights flashing.
Promptly making his way through the 200 or so resi- dents gathered
at Memorial Park, Santa and Mrs. Claus headed to the gazebo and did
his annual duty of flicking the giant light switch at the holiday
celebration.
As the park and Foothill Boulevard became aglow in holiday lights,
children and their parents lined up to see Santa. The band Misplaced
Priorities played holiday tunes.
Abby Zimmerman and her mom, Janet Zimmerman, quickly got in the
line so Abby could tell Santa she wanted a guitar and stuffed animals
for Christmas. Zimmerman grew up in La Canada Flintridge, and came
back for the ceremony.
"For the kids especially, seeing Santa Claus come in is a big
deal," Zimmerman said.
But Santa wasn't Abby's favorite part of the night.
"I liked playing in the snow because we live at the beach," she
said. The Crescenta Valley Sheriff's Station provided fake snow for
the event.
For Samantha Hart, the night's atmosphere stood out among all of
the event's activities.
"Everyone is in such a friendly mood," she said. "And that's
really the most important thing."
The event is sponsored by the La Canada Flintridge Chamber of
Commerce and Community Assn. Along with Santa, the lighting ceremony
and fake snow, local school choirs performed, and finalists for the
Miss La Canada Flintridge court were announced.
Normally, three finalists are selected, but because of the high
number of applications turned in, five were selected this year. All
are juniors in La Canada Flintridge schools or are residents of the
city.
Amanda Cochran, Susannah Crowley, Kelly Herbert, Kristi Scheff and
Monica Young will make up the 2003 court. One of the girls will be
selected as Miss La Canada Flintridge in January.
The large presence of youth at the event added to the event's
success, chamber Executive Director Schuyler Sprowles said.
"Seeing all the little kids here was great," he said. "It's the
perfect age to start getting caught up in the spirit of the season."
