by Bea Peterson
Hoosick Falls was abuzz Friday evening, December 5. Activities began at 6 pm when Mayor Laura Reynolds and Santa Claus, assisted by little Caroline Still, elf Eric Kaufman and Conner McEvoy, waited for the sound of the fire truck horn to light the Village tree in the gazebo in Wood Park.
Then Santa, who bore quite a resemblance to Lester Goodermote, climbed into the beautiful sleigh brought to the Village by the Van Rensselaer Star Masonic Lodge #400 for the parade. The Sparks and Kemps families braved the cold in their decorated truck to be part of the event, which included fire engines from Hoosick Falls and North Hoosick. The “Get Fired Up for the Holidays” parade was a salute to the community’s many volunteer fire fighters.
After a trip around the block, Santa visited with youngsters in the Village meeting room. The hallway and room were packed with people! Aelish Nealon, Director of the Youth Center said they
made 150 fire engine cookies for the youngsters to decorate and they ran out!
Shops along John St. held Open House, and many people took an opportunity to stop in and do some holiday shopping.
At the Village Board meeting on Tuesday Mayor Laura Reynolds commended Nealon, Jason Jensen and the many volunteers who made the event such a success.