Festival of Lights

Ava and I were invited to participate in Brigton's "Festival of Lights", which is a night-time parade welcoming the holiday season. My friend, Tracy, put together a float for her store and invited us to ride along, wave, and throw candy. Despite our pickup truck full of 4-to-9 year olds excitedly throwing ALL the candy overboard within the first 2 minutes (leaving none for 9/10ths of the parade attendees), the experience was a lot of fun. At the end of the procession, we waited expectantly out in the cold with the other parade goers as the First Selectman made a little speech ahead of the ceremonial tree lighting. In the shadows, Ava and I could see a huge, lovely tree and pointed to it, expecting the huge form to light up spectacularly as the Selectman counted down..."5, 4, 3, 2, 1"...suddenly, next to the big tree, a small, scraggly pine tree no more than 6 feet tall lit up. What?! There must be some mistake! But no, the dwarf pine is, in fact, the town Christmas tree. Maybe Bridgton is expressing its humble nature? Don't know. Just when we think we've settled in, we learn new things about our community every day.

Seriously, I am impressed by how much locals up here embrace the dark, cold winter months and use community spirit to make it fun. The parade is just a start. Soon, winter sports will be in full swing. Ava and I can't wait to go ice skating at the town rink, with it's free hot chocolate and ever-hot wood stove just outside the rink. Fun!