Ushering in the holiday season, the Moorestown Community House is gearing up to kick-off the first-ever tree lighting ceremony within the town.
The first Tree Lighting Celebration will take place on Dec. 2 at 5:30 p.m. on the front lawn of the Community House.
“This has been an ongoing effort for the better part of the last six to 10 months,” said resource assistant for the Moorestown Community House Amanda Park.
Park explained that the event came out of the Moorestown Community House Board of Trustees’ Community Outreach Committee.
“The board looked at the Community House and looked at the seasons to see what hole in the calendar they could fill,” Park said.
The event will culminate in the lighting of a 20-foot Norway Spruce, donated by Pete Palko in memory of his mother and planted by Depenbrock Design, Inc., and the lighting of a 10-foot-tall menorah, which was built and donated by the Moorestown Jewish Association.
In addition, the Moorestown Jewish Association will also be actively participating in the event on Dec. 2.
Festivities will include live music provided by the Moorestown High School Madrigals, hot chocolate donated by Brandywine Senior Living at Moorestown Estates and cookies donated by Wegmans.
“We are proud to bring this new tradition to the community,” Moorestown Community House Board of Trustees president George Schulmann said. “The Tree Lighting Celebration embodies all that the Community House stands for, in that it creates a new memory and further bonds people and families to each other and to our town.”
In addition, warm clothing and non-perishable food will be collected by Moorestown Home and School Association, Inc. to support MooreKids and the Moorestown Ministerium Food Pantry operated by Saint Matthew Lutheran Church.
“It’s not just turning on the lights of a menorah or a Christmas tree, but also to give back to the community,” Park said.
All collections will take place inside the Community House’s clubroom.
“I could not be happier with the positive response that I have heard from people all over town,” trustee and Tree Lighting Committee chair Laurie Palko said. “As well, many groups have heard about it and called us directly to see how they could get involved.”
Spreading the news around town, Park said that members have already begun distributing posters and flyers around the schools, as well as even hanging a banner across Main Street.
“The word is getting out there and people are hearing about it,” she said.
The lighting of both the tree and the menorah will take place at 6:15 p.m. and be broadcast live by CBS 3. Following the lighting, Santa is also slated to make an appearance while riding on a fire truck.
