The Springfield community came together to light the Christmas Tree outside Town Hall and the First Aid Squad on Wednesday night, December 1, 2021, following the cancelation of last year’s event due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Upwards of 1,000 children and adults packed the municipal complex grounds for a live concert featuring local talent including Taye McQueen, singer, actress, and Jonathan Dayton High School Class of 2011 graduate; students of Front & Center for Performing Arts of Springfield; and members of the Jonathan Dayton High School Jazz Lab Ensemble. After the performances, Mayor Chris Weber — standing with Deputy Mayor Alex Keiser, Committeemen Richard Huber and Chris Capodice, and Committeewoman Erica DuBois — offered greetings and led the countdown to the tree lighting. The crowd was then treated to a surprise appearance by Santa Claus, who descended from the Town Hall cupola on the Springfield Fire Department’s truck ladder. Santa posed for hundreds of photos and distributed candy canes to a long line of attendees. During the 2-hour event on the clear brisk evening, the Grinch and a Toy Soldier roamed the grounds interacting with children and posing for photos. Attendees also flocked to the walk-in inflatable snow globe photo booth. Giveaways were provided by the Springfield Business Improvement District (B.I.D.), as well as the Springfield F.M.B.A. Local #57 who hosted lawn games for the children present. Throughout the night, Springfield H.O.P.E. collected gift cards that will be donated to resident families in need. And Springfield Unity Project (S.U.P.) collected non-perishable food items for needy community members. Boy Scouts Troop #73 was on hand to take pre-orders for grave blankets and wreaths, and several scouts led the crowd in the Pledge of Allegiance. Financial sponsorship for the event was provided by Allstate Shamir Montanez-Johnson. According to Adam Lieb, Director of Recreation, whose department coordinated the event with other township departments and first responders, “This tree lighting was one of my favorites because Springfield finally celebrated together after being apart a long year ago. Plus, we welcomed three terrific hometown musical performers. I’m very thankful that the weather was pleasant and the crowd was large and energetic.” Â
And thank you to our Department of Public Works for all the work they did decorating the town and setting up the tree for the ceremony. It took about a month to decorate the entire town, with decorations that the township has had for 30 years. And the tree with its 15,000 lights, took 2 days to set up.Â
