×

Christmas in Dunkirk

OBSERVER Photo by Mary Heyl Carriage rides were provided by Crackerjack Farms free for anyone to ride. Mayor Wilfred Rosas said this is the first year that the Christmas festivities have included the carriage rides.

When Small Business Saturday events at the D&F Plaza closed down at about 5 p.m., festivities moved to city hall in Dunkirk. Refreshments, free raffle tickets, carriage rides and visits to Santa Claus were on the agenda to help the community get into the holiday spirit.

Santa Claus, who even spoke Polish, sat on a throne to visit with children and hand out candy canes. Some adults also took an opportunity to take selfies with the jolly man. But Santa did not want to just sit; he also worked the crowds, clearly enjoying his visit to our small city.

Mike and Merle, AKA the M&M Team, from CrackerJack Farm in Bemus Point were hitched to a large white carriage. The large but very gentle Percheron horses willingly obeyed the carriage driver, giving rides to groups of about 14 at a time. Festivals/Special Events Coordinator Hector Rosas said, “The Race World Organization (which came to Dunkirk for the Powerboat event this summer) wanted to give something back to the city. They provided the funding for the carriage rides.”

At 6 p.m. the crowd joined Mayor Willie Rosas in counting down from 10. Right on cue, the multi-colored lights came on, illuminating the two large trees, several smaller decorations, and a wreath on the entrance to city hall.

Volunteers made sure that children received white tickets and adults received red ones for the free raffle. As tickets were drawn, Mayor Rosas announced the numbers. A number of prizes and gift certificates were awarded in each category. After the last raffle, Rosas wished everyone a Merry Christmas.

Sean Szukala of Dunkirk won the grand prize, a football from Micah Hyde, No. 23 of the Buffalo Bills, complete with a certificate of authentication.

Clearly, this was a happy crowd of people enjoying a special event in their city. Even Leo, a large Golden Doodle dog seemed to enjoy the attention he received from his own family as well as others.

The Lautenslaker family of Dunkirk had smiles on their faces. Heather, the mom of the family, said they had been coming to the tree lighting for at least the last four years. “It’s just our thing,” she said.

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

COMMENTS

[vivafbcomment]

Starting at $4.62/week.

Subscribe Today