Huge crowd turns out for Holiday Festival of Lights
It isn’t every day that people get to take a sled ride down a snowy hill, wearing shorts in 75 degree weather.
But that’s what countless kids (and adults) did Saturday night on a closed-down Cape Coral Parkway at the annual Holiday Festival of Lights, one of the oldest events in the Cape.
Title sponsored by the Gunterberg Charitable Foundation and organized by the Chamber of Commerce of Cape Coral, the event has been a holiday staple for decades, bringing community support, the holiday spirit and family fun for everybody.
People got to take that sled ride, but also see the Christmas tree lit up, complete with fake snow; watched numerous performing groups entertain on stage; and, of course, got to see Santa taking photo ops under the tree.
Chamber President Donna Germain said it was great to see all the people come out, a sign that everyone wants to start getting the nightmare of Hurricane Ian behind them.
“This is one of our favorite events that we do. Everybody needed this. It’s nice to see the families out. They say it’s a larger crowd than last year,” Germain said. “We definitely needed some holiday cheer to take people’s minds off the recovery.”
The event couldn’t go in without the help of volunteers, Germain said, and there were numerous groups and organizations that helped in that cause.
“We’ve been giving away free cotton candy and free popcorn and slime. We also have a gift card giveaway,” said John Solaroli, pastor at the Faith Generation Church, which brought more than 60 members. “We want to let people know we’re in the community and we also help with the slide.”
Among the entertainers was the Hot Flashz, a 50+ dance troupe that does events all over the area. There was also a show from the movie “Frozen” that ran several times, with Elsa and Anna singing their signature songs.
There were also face-painters courtesy of Cape Christian Church, with many kids leaving there looking like cats, tigers and other interesting work.
Peggy McManus, a new resident who spent her first hurricane in a closet, watched as her kids got painted, and said she was happy everyone has come together.
“People can enjoy their lives now. They lost so much and yet everyone is giving back,” McManus said. “We can have fun and forget about it for a night at least.”
City dignitaries such as Mayor John Gunter and several council members were there to light the tree.
Councilmember Patty Cummings went with her family and left it saying it was an amazing evening.
“I loved Santa Claus came in on a firetruck. I loves the tree lighting, I loved the snow so much I played in it,” Cummings said. “It brought joy to my heart to watch everyone smiling and laughing and to see all the small businesses here doing well.”
Elmer Tabor, a Cape Coral pioneer, was thrilled to be able to hold this event as a way for people to get their troubles off their minds.
“This is super special, because of everything the city has gone through with the hurricane, and maybe people have been stressed out. We really needed this event bad,” Tabor said. “To see the crowd and the smiles on everyone’s faces, it’s getting the holiday spirit and the community back together.”