City Of West Haven: Rossi Lights West Haven Christmas Tree; Watch On YouTube

Press release from the City of West Haven:

November 29, 2021

PHOTO — West Haven Mayor Nancy R. Rossi, with grandson Arthur Rossi, 11, right, leads Executive Assistant Louis P. Esposito Jr. and Santa and Mrs. Claus in a countdown to light the Christmas tree on the Green at the city’s holiday kickoff Saturday, Nov. 27. (City Photo/Andrew Kosarko)

WEST HAVEN, Nov. 29, 2021 — Santa and Mrs. Claus joined Mayor Nancy R. Rossi and a group of essential workers who helped West Haven through the coronavirus pandemic to light the Christmas tree on the Green at the city’s holiday kickoff Saturday, Nov. 27.

After arriving in the West Haven Fire Department’s 1935 Mack pump firetruck, Santa and Mrs. Claus were escorted to a portable stage on the Main Street side of the Green by the West Haven High School cheerleading team to the sound of applause and shouts of glee from an estimated 400 merrymakers who braved the bitter cold.

Before the lighting of the tree, which is flanked by two smaller evergreen trees adorned with fluorescent-colored lights, Louis P. Esposito Jr., Rossi’s executive assistant, thanked and praised the mayor’s special guests — nurses, first responders and other front-line workers from West Haven — as the all-ages crowd clapped and cheered.

Rossi then thanked people for coming and led them in a countdown to set the tree — and the Green — aglow.

The essential workers recognized just offstage were Health Director Maureen B. Lillis, vaccination clinic registered nurses Mary Kate Florian and Elaine Holman, Emergency Reporting System dispatchers Rich Standish and Katy Ronan Vecellio, Board of Education paraprofessional Kim Kenny, West Haven Fire Department Chief James P. O’Brien, Department of Public Works electrician Andy Pacelli, Emergency Management Director Joseph Soto and Police Chief Joseph S. Perno.

Rossi was also accompanied onstage by her grandson, Arthur Rossi, 11, and Esposito, the master of ceremonies.

The four-hour holiday festival opened with the national anthem sung by Grace Kelly Nowak and followed with Christmas favorites performed by instructors, students and a choir from The Rock House School of Music on a flatbed truck opposite the stage. The flatbed was provided by Bruneau’s Garage of West Haven.

The annual event was presented by the city, the First Congregational Church of West Haven and West Haven United, an organization aimed at bringing the city’s volunteer groups together.

Although last year’s public tree lighting was postponed because of COVID-19, Rossi surprised residents with a virtual lighting shortly after the announcement.

This year’s event featured costumed Christmas characters and Victorian-clad carolers entertaining families around the Green.

The Yuletide festivities also included four craft stations on the Green, where children made marshmallow snowman ornaments, decorated wooden ornaments, wrote letters to Santa, and made cards for U.S. troops overseas and those at the West Haven VA Medical Center.

Immediately after the lighting, The RumRunners performed holiday classics on the main stage.

Huge electric snowflakes decorated The John C. Ireland Bandstand, Victorian streetlamps bedecked with angels blowing on trumpets illuminated the walkways, and decorated wooden snowmen bordered sections of the 5.3-acre Green.

Before their long sleigh ride back to the North Pole, Santa and Mrs. Claus greeted children and posed for snapshots.

Just steps from Santa’s workshop, boys and girls dropped off wish lists at St. Nick’s official U.S. Postal Service mailbox.

Along with hayrides, kids rode in a vintage firetruck from the West Shore Fire Department. They also rode on the Roaming Railroad, a trackless train sponsored by West Haven United.

People brought nonperishable items for the West Haven Emergency Assistance Task Force, which provides food for residents in need.

Volunteers from the First Congregational Church sold burgers, hot dogs, cookies and decorative chocolate bars, and volunteers from West Haven United sold popcorn, hot chocolate and soda.

Watch the tree lighting on West Haven YouTube.

— MICHAEL P. WALSH, Public Relations Information Coordinator

West Haven Mayor Nancy R. Rossi, with grandson Arthur Rossi, 11, right, leads Executive Assistant Louis P. Esposito Jr. and Santa and Mrs. Claus in a countdown to light the Christmas tree on the Green at the city’s holiday kickoff Saturday, Nov. 27. (City Photo/Andrew Kosarko)

With the flip of a switch, the Green is transformed into a holiday wonderland. (City Photo/Andrew Kosarko)

An aerial view of the glowing Christmas trees on the Green. (City Drone Photo/Andrew Kosarko)

Grace Kelly Nowak opens the holiday festival by singing “The Star-Spangled Banner.” (City Photo/Andrew Kosarko)

Instructors, students and a choir from The Rock House School of Music perform a Christmas favorite on a flatbed truck on the Green. The flatbed was provided by Bruneau’s Garage of West Haven. (City Photo/Michael P. Walsh)

Drummer Melody McCarthy of The Rock House School of Music keeps time for the all-star band. (City Photo/Michael P. Walsh)

Victorian-clad carolers lead a singalong. (City Photo/Michael P. Walsh)

The RumRunners perform a holiday classic on the main stage. (City Photo/Andrew Kosarko)

Luke Regan, 6, of West Haven, and Charlotte Rose, 6, of Milford, make marshmallow snowman ornaments. (City Photo/Michael P. Walsh)

Angelina Frosolone, 8, of West Haven, gets her face painted by Laura Feist-Roche, the owner of Happy Daze Costumes of West Haven. (City Photo/Michael P. Walsh)

Ali Wyman, 8, of West Haven, and Jailyne Rodriguez, 8, of West Haven, decorate wooden ornaments. (City Photo/Michael P. Walsh)

Families enjoy a hayride around the 5.3-acre Green. (City Photo/Michael P. Walsh)

This press release was produced by the City of West Haven. The views expressed here are the author’s own.