Granby Tree Lighting Grows Into All-Day Event Supporting Small Businesses

Granby and East Granby will both be getting into the seasonal spirit in the coming weeks with major tree lighting ceremonies planned in both towns. Granby’s ceremony, the Happy Holidays Buy Local Shopping Day and Tree Lighting, is featured first.

The event is back after a break last year and has retooled to combine a show of support for local businesses during the holiday season with the traditional tree lighting and choral performances, creating a free, all-day event scheduled to start on Saturday, Dec. 8 at 8 a.m.

Residents can spend the day frequenting Granby businesses, with many offering special, one-day deals. The tree lighting ceremony itself, along with musical accompaniment from students at Kelly Lane and Wells Road schools, begins at 5:30 p.m. on Merchants Way in the center of Granby. A collection for the town food bank and a collection of unwrapped toys for area families in need are two more important components of the event.

“Our goal is to foster goodwill,” said Lori Blackburn, who has been hard at work organizing the daylong, multi-faceted event. “It’s a great family day.”

“She’s been working very hard on it,” said Jon Rechenberg, chamber of commerce president, noting that Blackburn deserves the lion’s share of the credit for making the event a reality.

One of the major components of the Buy Local shopping day is a holiday craft fair at MeadowBrook from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The fair features local artisans and craft makers who don’t have official storefronts.

“Our goal is celebrate the opening of the holiday season, promote our local businesses and restaurants and to collect food and toys for those less fortunate,” Blackburn wrote. “The event is a town-wide event. Businesses and organizations throughout Granby are encouraged to participate.”

Blackburn said the Granby Chamber of Commerce wants small businesses to succeed and to see all businesses in town do well.

The Granby Department of Recreation and Leisure Service, The Granby Chamber of Commerce and the Granby Lions Club are sponsoring the event.

Blackburn passed along this information for businesses and organizations that want to participate in the event: Please contact Erik Petersen at erik@adembroidery.com or Bill Ross at 860-614-8322 if you would like to participate or if you have any questions. You can also visit the chamber website for more information at www.granbycoc.org. Attendance is free.

Look for a story on East Granby’s Third Annual Holiday Tree Lighting and Carol Sing coming up Monday on Granby-East Granby Patch.