Residents are truly in for a treat. The city’s holiday lighting display is getting a major upgrade and will be unveiled December 1 at the Holiday Lighting and Christmas Parade on the City Green.
The beloved community tradition which includes a lively parade down Ridge Road, complimentary hot cocoa and donuts and visits with Santa Claus will be even more dazzling this year as new displays and LED lights line the City Green along with other city buildings.
“We’ll do our usual countdown and flip all the breakers at once,” said Recreation Director Jason Swim.
The Christmas Parade will step off Royalwood Road at 4:45 p.m. Dec. 1 and progress down Ridge Road to the City Green with the arrival of Santa Claus and many other festive floats and parade participants. Mayor Bob Stefanik will then perform a countdown and officially “flip the switch” to illuminate the new City Green and surrounding lighting displays.
The holiday lighting upgrade was made possible thanks to a grant from the Northeast Ohio Public Energy Council (NOPEC) Energized Community (NEC) Grant Program, according to information previously reported in the Royalton Recorder by Contributing Writer Gloria Pleva Kacik. Crews from Horizon Lighting Systems of Westlake set up the new displays earlier this month. The lighting grant totaled $121,350.
Those gathered Dec. 1 for the Holiday Lighting and Christmas Parade will be the first to see the brilliant new city lights display.
“Our new setup is individualized scenes and groups of different displays, including a train, ice skaters, snowmen, wreaths, snowflakes and roof-lined lights,” Swim said. “Snowflakes will hang from the City Green trees and the lighting display will be more spread out utilizing the space.”
The new collection will don not only the City Green, but also City Hall and the fire, service and police departments.
“I’ve wanted to enhance things,” said Mayor-elect Larry Antoskiewicz of the decades-old Christmas lights display. “NOPEC gives out grants to cities to improve their lighting and has a broad scope of all the ways they look to help.”
Though the small red and green houses will remain on the City Green for hot cocoa and donuts and visits with Santa, thanks to the longtime assistance of the Royalton Hills and Lions Club members, residents will be wowed as the entire area comes even more alive with new lights and vibrant displays Dec. 1.
By SARA MACHO HILL
Contributing Writer