Sandy Hook Tree Lighting Marks 10 Years

The streets of Sandy Hook Center were packed Saturday night as the business center hosted an annual tree lighting that drew hundreds of residents who mulled the shops, sang karaoke, ate cotton candy, peered through free 3-D glasses and partook in the several other activities.

The tree lighting tradition, organized by the Sandy Hook Organization for Prosperity, dates to 2001, according to Mary Fellows, one of the organizers who dedicated this year's event to the couple, Frank and Monica Rose, responsible for planting the tree.

"They decorated the tree the first year with a 6-foot ladder and two strings of lights and it's grown a lot since then, and I think the neighborhood has grown and the community of Sandy Hook has grown," Fellows said. "I would just like to dedicate this year's tree lighting to Monica and Frank Rose, and this spring we're going to plant a small rose garden in their memory."

The Roses also were founding members of SHOP, which was started around 1991, according to Fellows.

The tree lighting drew families who have called Sandy Hook home for decades as well as those who were new to the town, including Christy Hatcher, 40, and her two daughters, Katherine, 7, and Samantha, 5, who moved to town several months ago.

The trio, who also were at the Rams Pasture tree lighting a day earlier, started in Sandy Hook with cotton candy at St. John's Episcopal Church and later mulled the shops in the center where Katherine and Samantha picked up their free paper 3-D glasses, which gave them a special image every time they looked at a light.

"I like see rainbow reindeers in every single light," Katherine said.

Other families, such as Alenda Calderbank, and her husband, Charlie, and two children, said they like to drive by Rams Pasture to spot the lit tree but skip the festivities in favor of the Sandy Hook one.

"It's easier to park," Calderbank said. "It's nice to visit the little shops."

While the festivities surrounding the Rams Pasture lighting lasted only for about half an hour, the Sandy Hook one went for hours, starting at 4 p.m. when shops welcomed the crowds and the music was turned on and continued past the 6:30 p.m. tree lighting with caroling and other activities, including a raffle of two bikes. Attendees also were encouraged to drop off a food donation for the FAITH food pantry.