The Moorestown Business Association hosted its annual Candlelight Night on Nov. 2.
By ANDREW ROWAN
Special to The Sun
Contrasting the sound of rain hitting umbrellas on Main Street Friday evening, Nov. 2, was the sound of laughing children, music from local businesses and horses’ hooves hitting the pavement as the Moorestown Business Association hosted its annual Candlelight Night.
The event is meant to kick off the holiday season while featuring the businesses on Main Street, said event chair George Softly of the Mosquito Squad.
“It’s to enjoy kind of like what it would it be like back in the day when Moorestown was created,” Softly said.
Softly credited the many volunteers for helping to make the event a success. Boy Scout Troop 44 Assistant Patrol Leader Spencer Talbot is one of the volunteers who helped to place the hundreds of candlelit paper bags that lined both sides of Main Street. He said the troop was eager to help when asked by the MBA.
Each white paper bag has about a pound of sand and two electric candles. The luminary bags were donated by Moorestown Hardware owners Pete and Julie Bender, who also had a tent set up with various holiday decorations for sale.
“It’s our community, it’s a great community and we’re very proud to be a part of it,” Pete Bender said.
Many Main Street businesses had tents or stands set up outside of their stores to take advantage of the increased foot traffic.
Employees of Morrone and Kaye Orthodontics gave out cups of both hot and cold apple cider, Rice Krispie treats and bags of toothbrushes with other materials inside. The Morrone and Kaye’s Moorestown office has been participating in the event for more than 15 years.
“We like to give back to Moorestown because they are so good to us,” said financial coordinator Jennifer Bell, who added the staff always loves seeing their patients.
Caldwell Bank has been participating in Candlelight Night since its inception in the 1980s, said sales associate Vickie Sewell. The bank gave out balloons, apple cider donuts and hired a band, Opus Soul, to perform as entertainment for attendees.
“It’s a tradition that we love,” Sewell said. “We always invite our clients because it’s such a nice event.”
Glenn and Susan Trump have been coming to the event for the last 12 years with their kids, who are juniors at Lenape Regional High School. Though they live in Mt. Laurel, they always look forward to coming out to Candlelight Night.
“Once it gets dark, we love having hot chocolate,” said Glenn Trump, who noted that even though it was 70 degrees, he’d “drink it anyway” to keep the tradition.
The Trump family also enjoys hearing the Christmas carolers, who sing outside of Beneficial Bank. Branch Manager Arpita Saha said the carolers are a long standing tradition. She said an outside marketing company hires the Christmas carolers, who are often the same from year to year. Inside the bank, there was a plethora of craft options for kids, including a decorate your own penguin station. Saha said it was nice to have members of the community coming into the bank to have a nice time.
In addition to the caroling and penguin decorating offered by Beneficial Bank, Long and Foster Real Estate Company hosted its sixth annual gingerbread competition, featuring nine gingerbread houses made by local adults and kids. Entries ranged from “Magical Unicorn Farm” to “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” Manager Kelly Tanzola said they have some “star bakers who come back every year.”
Last year, more than 340 people voted in the contest. Winners receive gift cards.
“It’s really a great night for the kids,” said Moorestown resident Mark Gornto as he watched his daughter dance with another girl to the “Fresh Prince of Bel Air” theme song which was being blasted from a DJ outside of a business.
Despite the rain, residents continued to stroll the businesses and tents that lined Main Street. MBA member Dan Posternock said residents always come out, no matter what the weather is.
“I can remember a time about 15 years ago when it snowed, but you still saw people hugging each other,” Posternock said. “It’s really just a wonderful community event.”
