Ridgefield Lights Up, Conner Curran to Pull Switch, Kids Can Email Santa!

Holiday Spirit Gives Main Street a Lift

If you get a chance, take a nighttime drive down Main Street and enjoy a real spirit lifter. The holiday lights have been switched on as an early holiday gift in what has been a difficult year for Ridgefielders young and old.

The tree lights -- sponsored by contributions from the Holiday Trust Fund, and the downtown Ridgefield Association – are a much-loved town tradition. Most years, the lights are switched on formally on the Friday evening after Thanksgiving while hundreds gather to participate in the ceremony, listen to seasonal music and welcome Santa.

“This year we’ve made some changes,” said First Selectman Rudy Marconi. “We want to keep everyone safe. First, we decided to get the Holiday lights on as soon as possible as a reflection of our community’s spirit and as a special gift to the kids who have been doing a great job dealing with school and social restrictions.”

Ridgefielders may not be able to get together for the formal holiday lighting count down, but a virtual celebration will still be held online and on TV. The Ridgefield business and arts communities have joined with the Office of Emergency Management and Play-A-Part Studio to produce a great show for us that will air Friday, November 27 at 5:45 pm on Comcast Channel 24, FacebookLive and Vimeo. (Instructions on how to tune in will be posted on the Town website later this week.)

Ira Joe Fisher will be the Master of Ceremonies and will be talking with Santa in his North Pole workshop via Zoom. Santa promises he will be in town Christmas night, but wants to avoid crowds like the rest of us until then.

Ten-year-old Conner Curran, his twin brother Kyle and eight-year-old brother William will “pull the switch” during the virtual event to officially kick off Ridgefield’s Holiday season. Members of Ridgefield’s arts community including ACT, Prospector Theater, and the High School Music Department groups have all prepared special elements for the Virtual Holiday Celebration.

Members from the Chamber and the Downtown Ridgefield association will tell us what’s going on right here in town to help everyone enjoy this wonderful season.

Meanwhile, Santa asked the town to set up a special email address for kids who’d like to send their notes to him. Children of all ages can send Santa emails to santa@ridgefieldct.org. “We wanted to find a way to celebrate even if we can’t be downtown in person for a countdown,” said First Selectman Rudy Marconi. “This is the year to stay home so we can all stay safe and some very creative people have put together a not-to-be missed show. I’m pretty excited about it.”

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Submitted by Ridgefield, CT

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