Residents gathered at Blumenfeld Family Park in Port Washington for the annual Port Washington Christmas Tree Lighting on Sunday, Dec. 7, a 28-year community tradition that began in 1997 with a small group hoping to create a hometown version of the Rockefeller Center celebration.
What started with volunteers hauling in a cut tree each year has grown into a full nonprofit-run holiday festival, complete with a planted evergreen that now serves as the centerpiece of the event.
The Port Washington Christmas Celebration, the official name of the organization’s new 501(c)(3), continues to rely entirely on volunteers and donations from local businesses to bring the evening to life.
“I think it’s a lot of fun. People enjoy it,” said board member and event coordinator Patricia Atkins, who manages the group’s social media and press outreach. “It’s a nice community thing. All my friends have gone throughout the years. Some still show up even though their kids have aged out.”
This year’s celebration featured a live Nativity-style pageant with local children serving as angels and shepherds. A pastor of the Lutheran Church of Our Savior read the Christmas story, accompanied by a brass band and singers from the Red Stocking Revue, a long-standing local performance group.
Refreshments — including hot cider, cocoa and cookies — were donated by several Port Washington businesses, including Finn MacCool’s, the Port Washington Yacht Club, Learning Express, and the new Children’s Center Puzzles. The Cutting Edge landscaping company once again decorated the tree free of charge the day after Thanksgiving, continuing a longstanding tradition.
Atkins said the night ran smoothly, from the pageant to the countdown to the moment the tree lit up. Then, as always, the highlight arrived: Santa pulling in aboard a Port Washington Fire Department truck. Families lined up for nearly an hour to take photos in front of the illuminated tree, assisted by volunteer “elves” who snapped pictures for attendees.
Even with several competing Santa events in the area this weekend, Atkins said the turnout remained strong. “We still have the die-hards,” she said.
The organization welcomes new volunteers each year for both the planning committee and the children’s pageant. Donations to support next year’s celebration can be made via Venmo at @pwchristmas.
Atkins also encouraged residents to follow the group’s Instagram page, @PWChristmasCelebration, where she will be sharing photos of holiday decorations around Port Washington throughout December.
And in true community fashion, Atkins said one of this year’s sweetest moments: when the group posted on a local giving page asking for a replacement Santa chair, after last year’s broke, and a resident quickly donated one.
“It was fun getting people involved,” Atkins said. “It shows how much this community really comes together.”
