Bringing people together to celebrate the holidays is what puts wonder in the most wonderful time of the year. On Saturday, December 3, Lake Station City Hall invited the community to come out and kick off the holidays during its third annual tree lighting ceremony. Smiling families had a joyful time partaking in all kinds of holiday festivities like sipping on hot chocolate, munching on cookies, and of course, snapping photos with Santa. It was truly an event you didn’t want to miss.
“It’s just a little something small that we like to do for the community--it gives them something to see, something to do, and it’s a great way to kick off the holiday season,” said Adrian Vera, Chief of Staff.
As fun as the event was, the most fun part was seeing community members bond. The phrases “it’s so good to see you” and “it’s really nice to meet you” were buzz phrases of the night. The tree lighting exemplified how meaningful it can be when people come together.
“It’s less about lighting a tree and more about involving members of the community and getting them to become a part of city hall. Events like this bring camaraderie to Lake Station. It doesn’t matter if we’re holding a Halloween party or a ribbon cutting or lighting a tree--at the end of the day new faces show up and people get to be a part of something and come together,” said Jack Daniels, director of communications for Lake Station Mayor’s Office.
The tree lighting was also the perfect way for Lake Station to show off some of its most wonderful assets.
“It gives us an opportunity to showcase the best parts of our city, which is our volunteers. We have a volunteer fire department and a volunteer Lions club and a volunteer FIGHT club. It means a lot to the volunteers to get the opportunity to do something like this for everyone. Also, we have the mayor and our city council members all coming out to engage with the community and show people how much they care. It’s just really nice,” said Daniels.
Everybody was incredibly grateful to have the opportunity to take part in such a heartwarming event.
“I’m just happy that we were able to do this for the city. It’s the holiday season and we should all be seeking ways to be kind,” said Mayor Carroll.
There was no doubt in anyone’s mind that the event was a huge success. Many people are already eagerly anticipating next year’s tree lighting and can’t wait to see how the event grows in the future.
“I would really love to see all this growth. We started off with small lights and just a couple of trees and since then we’ve started decorating more and adding bigger lights. My hope is that we can continue to decorate more trees and get everything lit up here, as well as get more community involvement--maybe we’ll add a choir or have people play some instruments. Something fun,” said Vera.
Of course, this cheerful event wouldn’t have been possible without all the hardworking folks who strive to make Lake Station an even more wonderful place to be.
“I want to give a special thanks to the Lake Station Lions Club, our volunteer Santa Claus of course, and all the city workers who have helped bring this thing together,” said Vera.
To learn more about the City of Lake Station and its community bonding festivities, visit https://www.lakestation-in.gov/.
