Milford City Hall is now decked out in its finest as the City of Milford held their annual Tree Lighting Ceremony on Saturday evening. The event, emceed by Pastor Neyda Albarran of Avenue United Methodist Church, has become a holiday staple for many in Milford.
“Thank all of you for joining us this evening as we light the tall trees and celebrate the start of Christmas together,” Albarran said. “The season has begun!”
Mayor Todd Culotta kicked off the festivities.
“I know it is a little chilly out, so we’ll keep the program moving,” Culotta said. “We would like to thank the Milford School District, the city staff for putting this together, DMI and DJ Dave as well as the many volunteers who made this happen. I just want to remember the time of Christmas and what it means to everybody, but it really is a time to have family, friends, neighbors and people come together and celebrate friendships and celebrate helping each other. I just want everyone to think about that. I hope you had a wonderful year, and the new year is good for you as well. Welcome to Milford if you’re not from here.”
Vice-Mayor Jason James welcomed the hundreds of people standing in the cold in front of City Hall.
“Good evening to all the Milford residents and all of those that are from the greater Milford area, we’re so glad you’re here tonight. And as the mayor said, this is a wonderful time of year,” James said. “We know not everyone celebrates this time of year the same way, but Milford is open to every denomination, every faith, every nationality, everyone comes together in this time of the year to express their love to one another. The atmosphere is set and we’re going to light the city up. Our downtown is already lit up.”
James encouraged those in attendance to shop downtown during the holiday season, reminding everyone that shopping local benefits everyone.
“Don’t be afraid to go downtown Milford and shop in our shops, in our stores downtown. They would love to see you to spend some of your money with them in downtown Milford,” James said. “Now join in with the songs that are being sang, and as the young lady said, move closer together. Get to know each other, talk to the person next to you. You may find that you may build a bond before you leave here tonight. So welcome everyone to the great city of Milford. We’re glad to have you. Let’s get this thing started!”
Pastor David Shockley of Jesus Love Temple Church gave the invocation for the event before children in the community gave gifts to the mayor and vice-mayor representing the different cultural symbols of the season. Little Miss AFRAM, who was crowned during the African American Festival, gave the mayor a Canara. This symbolizes the African American celebration of Kwanzaa. The mayor and vice-mayor were also presented with a Menorah to represent Hanukkah and an advent wreath to represent the Christian faith.
After the presentations, students from Mispillion and Lulu Ross Elementary sang carols, ending with Felice Navidad. The students encouraged the crowd to sing along with them. During the celebration, Downtown Milford Inc. provided free cookies, bubble wands, Christmas stamps and jingle bells to those in attendance. The Culture Club offered free children’s crafts while Village and Venue’s Ahh La Carte offered hot chocolate.
Santa and Paige Howell of Paige’s Kindness Project flipped the switch to light the trees and decorations. During the entire ceremony, Peggy Schmidt provided sign language interpretation. The First State Harmonizers also provided carols, followed by the Jesus Love Temple Gospel Choir to finish out the evening.
