Town welcomes the holiday season

Tree Lighting Ceremony and Festivities set for Saugus Center Tonight – with an appearance from Santa Claus

By Mark E. Vogler

The holiday spirit will be on full display in Saugus tonight when the town hosts its annual Tree Lighting Ceremony and Festivities.

“Please join your family and friends and come out to celebrate the beginning of the holiday season as a community,” Town Manager Scott C. Crabtree said in a press release this week, announcing details of what he calls “one of the town’s most beloved events.”

The town’s official Christmas tree, which grows in the monument rotary of Saugus Center, got decorated with big red bows this week in preparation for an event that is expected to draw 2,000 to 3,000 people from Saugus and neighboring communities.

Residents young and old are invited to Town Hall today (Friday, Dec. 6) from 5 to 8:30 p.m. for a fun-filled evening with Santa, sleigh rides, a petting zoo, a moon bounce, hot chocolate, cookies, entertainment, horse-drawn hay rides and much more. Event organizers are also excited for the return of holiday trackless train rides, which will run weather permitting. But the main event gets underway at 7 p.m., when Santa Claus arrives shortly before the Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony. Then he will spend about an hour accommodating a long line of children and grown-ups who want to share a photo opportunity with him.

“This is one of our Town’s most unforgettable annual events, so I hope to see you all there,” Town Manager Crabtree said.

“Each year the Tree Lighting Ceremony and Festivities is bigger and more magical than ever, thanks to countless hours of preparation and setup by volunteers, the Department of Youth and Recreation, the Department of Public Works, the Building Maintenance Department, and numerous other municipal employees and volunteers,” the town manager said. “This beloved event would also not be possible without the continued support and generosity from residents and local businesses.”

For more information, contact the Town Manager’s Office at 781-231-4111.