Roscoe Village starts the Christmas season with Candlelighting

| December 5, 2016
Megan Stonebraker, 2016 Coshocton Canal Days Queen, lights the first candle at the Roscoe Village Candlelighting on Dec. 3. Jen Jones | Beacon

Megan Stonebraker, 2016 Coshocton Canal Days Queen, lights the first candle at the Roscoe Village Candlelighting on Dec. 3. Jen Jones | Beacon

COSHOCTON – The magic and wonder of the Christmas season was evident in Roscoe Village Saturday evening for the first candlelighting of the year. Candles and beautifully decorated Christmas trees softly lit the streets as visitors enjoyed hot chocolate, cookies and cider. Music of the season played and Santa stopped to visit with everyone. The night was just cold enough to add to the feel of the season.

Jon Cotterman, the director for “Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol,” was dressed as a character from the play and rang a bell up and down the street inviting the public to the play after the candlelighting. The play will also be presented Dec. 9, 10, 16 and 17 at 8 p.m. at the Triple Locks Theater.

Rachel Hotlieb, from Columbus, attended the candlelighting for the first time with her two children, Eisley and Luke. She said her cousin had attended before and they decided to bring all six children this weekend. Monica Baker said she knew the children would enjoy the music and seeing the candles. Her children, Callie, Camryn, Madeline and Jake, sat with their cousins to enjoy cookies and popcorn.

Seven year old Baylor Forbes was walking through the streets with her grandparent’s dog, Maggie. Baylor was excited to be at the candlelighting and was enjoying leading Maggie around. Maggie was enjoying the fact the cookie crumbs and popcorn were all over the street.

Jennifer Williams, director of special events in Roscoe Village, welcomed the large crowd to the candlelighting. She said the tree lighting and candlelighting have been a tradition in Roscoe Village for 45 years. The village tree used to be cut from the Montgomery family farm, but when their trees became too large, the tradition became that a local family or organization would donate the tree. This year, the Emmanuel Lutheran Church donated the beautiful tree.

The Ridgewood High School choir provided music for the evening. Vicki Durben was in the crowd to support her daughter, Katie, who is a senior in the choir. She said Katie has been part of the choir for five years and loves being part of this great group of teenagers. Durben also said the last time the choir sang at the candlelighting, it was bitterly cold and she was glad it was a little warmer this time.

As a story about a special Christmas star was shared, the official village tree was lit up. The “aahhs” from the crowd proved the huge tree was beautiful. The official candlelighter for the evening was Megan Stonebraker, 2016 Canal Days Queen.  She lit her candle from the candle on the stage and then lit the candles of people on the stage. Once each candle was lit, that candle lit another and the sounds of “Silent Night” filled the air. In just a few minutes, every person in the crowd was holding a lit candle and singing.

If you want to experience the simple beauty of the Roscoe Village candlelighting, there will be two more opportunities on Dec. 10 and 17. Both evenings will begin at 6 p.m. and are free to attend.

Category: People & Places

About the Author ()

Comments are closed.