As the air is starting to get a little colder, the urge to stay inside might take over. However, there will soon be the twinkling of Christmas lights, hot beverage sales and fun holiday events in Moorestown, just in time to get you in the holiday spirit. There are a lot of holiday happenings going on in Moorestown that people surely will not want to miss.
Kicking off the 2014 holiday season will be the second annual tree lighting celebration on Dec. 1 at the Moorestown Community House. CBS 3 and Moorestown’s own Kathy Orr will once again join the Community House along with approximately 1,500 citizens on the front lawn of to continue this memorable tradition celebrating the most wonderful time of the year.
“The Community House represents Moorestown’s unity and focus on giving back. Our mission is to bring people together and bond them to our town. The tree lighting unites friends, families and organizations in such a positive way, and I am thrilled that we are able to bring this tradition to our community,” said Laurie Palko, trustee and chair of the Tree Lighting Committee.
Festivities will begin on the front lawn at 5:30 p.m. and will include a children’s story by Timothy R. Hollybottom, musical entertainment by the Madrigals and the Philly POPS, warm clothing collections by MooreKids, hot chocolate donated by Brandywine Senior Living, cookies and water donated by Wegmans, a toy collection by the Salvation Army and candy canes passed around by Community House board members and staff.
“Laurie Palko really has put a lot of work into this event. It is important to recognize all of those groups and people who donated their services,” said Brad Kenney, executive director of the Community House.
The event will culminate with the lighting of a 20-foot Norway spruce generously donated last year by Pete Palko in honor of his mother. The tree will once again be decorated with beautiful lights donated by Moorestown Hardware, with the labor to hang the lights being donated by Hyperion Tree Service.
The tree lighting, which will be broadcast live around 6:15 p.m. on Channel 3, will be followed by a drive-by visit from Santa on a fire truck. To learn more about the Community House, visit www.ourcommunityhouse.com.
The next exciting holiday event is the Cooks Tour on Dec. 3 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., returning to Moorestown after a year’s hiatus. According to Rose McManus Coleman, senior vice president of the Virtua Foundation, after 50 years, the Virtua Memorial Auxiliaries, which organize the Cooks Tour, needed to take a step back and reevaluate how the tour was run and put together. With the help of many volunteers, the tour is back.
“We are thrilled that members of the community stepped forward to take on the responsibility,” Coleman said. “We’re grateful for them doing this. It requires a lot of work and does a lot of good.”
This marks the 51st year of the Cooks Tour and will feature four beautiful homes decorated for the holiday season. This community fundraiser will support renovations to the Oncology Infusion Center at Virtua Memorial in Mt. Holly.
The Cooks Tour was started in 1962 by the Curtis Auxiliary, an all-volunteer organization founded by a group of Moorestown women. It was named in honor of Dr. Howard M. Curtis, a pediatrician at what is now known as Virtua Memorial.
“Other than the gingerbread cookies, seeing how different folks decorate their homes and how people celebrate is one of my favorite parts,” Coleman said. “It is great to see people come out to help and experience these homes.”
Tickets are available online at cookstour.ticketleap.com, at the Community House and at participating Moorestown businesses. Tickets are limited so be sure to get them early. Interested volunteers can contact Virtua Foundation at (856) 355–0830.
The Moorestown Lions Club’s 54th Annual Holiday Parade on Saturday, Dec. 6 is the next event in Moorestown that celebrates the holiday season. On a good weather day, the parade can get between 3,500 and 5,000 spectators. However, rain or shine, the event shall go on.
“Many of the people who come to watch the parade were in it themselves as children. It is a continuation thing to be able to see what their own children are doing and what they did. The remarks I get about the parade are very positive. People really enjoy it. It is one of the few events that brings people together with no agenda other than to have a good time,” said Peter R. Thorndike, parade chairman.
The parade, which begins at noon at the corner of Chester and Central avenues, will be led by the The Scot McGregor Bagpipes Band and include performances by string bands, the Moorestown High School Band and the Liberty Band. In addition, there will be the town council, Boys Scouts and Girls Scouts, marching units and floats in the parade. The theme of this year’s parade is “Frozen.” Cash prizes will be awarded to the participants best exemplifying the theme.
The parade begins at Central and Chester avenues and travels north to Main Street. It then travels south on Main Street until it reaches Church Street and the reviewing stand where it will proceed south to Memorial Field.
“It’s a little bit of Americana that still exists out there today,” Thorndike said.
The Moorestown Mall will also be hosting a slew of holiday events. There will be a Holiday Digital Contest to win $1,000 starting Nov. 21 through Dec. 12; a charity toy drive sponsored by Moorestown Mall and Lourdes Health System starting Friday, Nov. 21 through Dec. 24; the Salvation Army — Red Kettle Drive starting Nov. 28 through Dec. 24; and Military Shopping Day on Dec. 13 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Let’s not forget Santa will be available for pictures and fun events, which will continue until Dec. 24.
Also, holiday entertainment from local schools will usher in the holiday cheer with student concerts for all shoppers in the Macy’s court in the Moorestown Mall. Starting Dec. 8, the Riverton School Choir will perform at 12:30 p.m., Dec. 9 M. Joan Pearson School will perform at 11 a.m., Dec. 10 Walnut Street School will perform at 11 a.m. and Dec. 13 The Bowman School of Dance will perform at 5 p.m.
For more information on these events, go to www.moorestown-mall.com/holiday2014#happenings.
