Carefree Truth
Issue #609, December 11, 2017
Mayor Les Peterson said that, over 10 years ago, the Christmas Festival began with caroling at the Carefree Resort for 2 years. The attendance got up to around 1,000 people by the second year. By the third year, it became an excellent building of activities in the town center on the second weekend of December, with an evening parade and fireworks.
This year, the Town took it over and it is going on now. It has been expanded to a 23 day long event, which better fits the footprint of the town. The first weekend included the lighting of the 27' tall Christmas tree under the sundial, which will become an annual event. It was extremely well received and attended. It is estimated that approximately 3,000 people came over the first weekend. The second weekend is the most significant, with the parade and fireworks.
The parade was moved from 6 PM to 10 AM on Saturday for safety reasons and to better fit the needs of the merchants. The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office had expressed concern with safety at night because some families were walking up to a mile getting to and from their cars along dark streets. The Mayor felt the Town couldn't, in good conscience, continue the higher risk.
He thanked Gina Kaegi and Vicki Zimmerman, who have been working endlessly to put these pieces together. The Town has again worked with the Carefree/Cave Creek Chamber of Commerce for the parade. There were roughly 40 entries with 500 participants. The parade was expected to last about an hour. The Mayor again reminded people that it will take place on Saturday morning, December 9th, starting at 10 AM. He thanked everyone involved.
https://vimeo.com/246584959
(Lyn's note: Many thanks to Donna and Lloyd Meyer, who provided their lovely piano and organ playing for the first 2 years at the Resort, and to Jo Gemmill, who took it over from there, building the Carefree Christmas Festival into the renowned event it has become. Herbert and I were among the skeptics about a daytime parade, but it was a lot of fun and got a good turnout. As usual, Herbert volunteered to be a Festival photographer. Here is a link to his Christmas Festival pictures.
http://aneyeonyouproduction.com/12917-carefree-christmas-parade.html)
Issue #609, December 11, 2017
Mayor Les Peterson said that, over 10 years ago, the Christmas Festival began with caroling at the Carefree Resort for 2 years. The attendance got up to around 1,000 people by the second year. By the third year, it became an excellent building of activities in the town center on the second weekend of December, with an evening parade and fireworks.
This year, the Town took it over and it is going on now. It has been expanded to a 23 day long event, which better fits the footprint of the town. The first weekend included the lighting of the 27' tall Christmas tree under the sundial, which will become an annual event. It was extremely well received and attended. It is estimated that approximately 3,000 people came over the first weekend. The second weekend is the most significant, with the parade and fireworks.
The parade was moved from 6 PM to 10 AM on Saturday for safety reasons and to better fit the needs of the merchants. The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office had expressed concern with safety at night because some families were walking up to a mile getting to and from their cars along dark streets. The Mayor felt the Town couldn't, in good conscience, continue the higher risk.
He thanked Gina Kaegi and Vicki Zimmerman, who have been working endlessly to put these pieces together. The Town has again worked with the Carefree/Cave Creek Chamber of Commerce for the parade. There were roughly 40 entries with 500 participants. The parade was expected to last about an hour. The Mayor again reminded people that it will take place on Saturday morning, December 9th, starting at 10 AM. He thanked everyone involved.
https://vimeo.com/246584959
(Lyn's note: Many thanks to Donna and Lloyd Meyer, who provided their lovely piano and organ playing for the first 2 years at the Resort, and to Jo Gemmill, who took it over from there, building the Carefree Christmas Festival into the renowned event it has become. Herbert and I were among the skeptics about a daytime parade, but it was a lot of fun and got a good turnout. As usual, Herbert volunteered to be a Festival photographer. Here is a link to his Christmas Festival pictures.
http://aneyeonyouproduction.com/12917-carefree-christmas-parade.html)
Lyn Hitchon
Prepared by Carefree Truth
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Visit www.carefreeazbusinesses.com to see more info about businesses in Carefree. Please support our merchants.
Prepared by Carefree Truth
Visit our website at www.carefreetruth2.com If you know anyone who would like to be added to the Carefree Truth email list, please have them contact me. Feel free to share Carefree Truth with others on your list.
Visit www.carefreeazbusinesses.com to see more info about businesses in Carefree. Please support our merchants.