St. Petersburg Hold Its First Annual Christmas Tree Lighting
A precious moment with Santa.
Sunday, December 4th was a very chilly evening, but hearts were warm and spirits were high as St. Petersburg held its First Annual Christmas Tree Lighting at 6:00 p.m. Tabby Wetzel Welcomed everyone, and after a beautiful prayer and several Christmas carols, our tree, covered with ornaments made by the A-C Valley Elementary Art Students, under the direction of Mrs. Jessica Nimelli, was lit.
Also, a Nativity Scene, borrowed from the St. Petersburg United Methodist Church, and a Merry Christmas Banner, were illuminated.
Miss Marcia (Marcia Best) and Lager the Therapy Dog read, ‘Twas The Night Before Christmas, and it was enjoyed by both the children and the adults alike. Then the fire siren rang, and Santa arrived on the St. Petersburg Fire Truck. He sat next to the tree, talked to each and every child, handed out goodie bags to all the kiddos, and had his picture taken with children, and adults, too.
Miss Marcia (Marcia Best) and Lager the Therapy Dog. Pictured here with State Senator Scott Hutchinson, who stopped by to enjoy the activities.
Cookies, cupcakes, brownies, coffee, and hot chocolate were enjoyed by all. The turnout was above and beyond the Christmas Tree Lighting Committee’s expectations. Everyone seemed to have a good time and stayed to visit with friends and neighbors.
The Christmas Tree Lighting Committee members, Tabby Wetzel, Marcia Best, Jennifer Fichte, Liza Shaklee, De Clover, (and spouses, family members, friends, etc.) would like to thank the St. Petersburg Borough Council. They were behind us 100%. We appreciated so much your interest, your support, and your enthusiasm. We also want to thank the numerous “Elves” who helped with everything from lights, to wiring to signage, tree decorating, set up, tear down, and clean up. Thank you to the Elves who manned the table of goodies and the beverage tables. A big thank you goes to our cookie and browning bakers — Missie Wetzel, Lori O’Brien, Vickie Persic, Marcia Best, and Ed Clover. Also, We want to thank Tina Buchanan, owner of Moose Cake, for her donation of cupcakes for our event. You all did a delicious job!!
We want to thank Ron Shoup, who grew up in St. Petersburg, for providing his guitar and the music for the evening. What a treat to have Jeanne Whitling and her Cookie Monster Jeep with us as well. It was a big hit!! Thank you also to Katy and Barry Yancosek (owners of the former Lutheran Church) for graciously allowing us to use their electricity for our tree, the Nativity Scene, and our lighted banner.
We certainly cannot forget Santa Claus. He is a very special friend of Quincy Deloe of St. Petersburg, and we appreciated Quincy making all the arrangements for Santa to be in town Sunday night. Thank you to the St. Petersburg Fire Company for providing the transportation for Santa to arrive at just the right moment!