By Ashley M. Casey
Associate Editor
Each year, Baldwinsville residents flock to the center of the village on the Saturday after Thanksgiving to see the Parade of Lights and watch Santa and Mrs. Claus light the Christmas tree in Baldwin Canal Square. The village has decided to forego the parade and public tree lighting to avoid a super-spreader event, but Mayor Dick Clarke is hoping his neighbors can spread some holiday cheer instead.
“I have proposed a special way to add Christmas joy to the village. I call it ‘Light Up the Village,’” Clarke told the Messenger.
Village residents are encouraged to decorate their homes and string up lights by Nov. 30 so B’villians can enjoy a festive walk or drive through the community.
“If you normally decorate, add a string of lights; if you don’t decorate, this might be a good year to start. People can ride around and see the lights — cheaper and closer than Lights on the Lake — or even have a snowy walk reminiscent of years ago,” Clarke said.
Clarke is hoping the Light Up the Village initiative will lift the spirits of people who may not be able to visit their families this holiday season.
“More and more people are going to end up with virtual Thanksgivings,” he said, adding that he and his wife Linda will be having a Zoom Thanksgiving with their family.
“For people who are going to be home without family, let’s hop in the car and drive around B’ville and see the lights,” Clarke said. “Nobody’s going to get infected driving around.”
Clarke has asked PAC-B TV, the public access channel, to film a tour of Light Up the Village and broadcast it for those who can’t make it in person. PAC-B will tape the tree lighting, which will not be open to the public this year. Clarke suggested the channel could also run footage of past parades and tree lightings.
The village normally decorates its lampposts and puts up a tree for the holidays, and Clarke is hoping more residents will deck the halls.
“It’d be like driving through an ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ kind of world,” he said. “You could forget about the troubles of the day for a bit.”
