By Dawn De Busk

Staff Writer

HARRISON — The children were waiting at Crystal Lake Park next to an unlit holiday tree for Santa Claus to arrive by firetruck.

The clock kept ticking and still no Santa.

In fact, he was almost a half-hour late.

The president of Christmas in Harrison’s board of directors Britt Bennett relayed the story of Saint Nick’s delay

During the family night on Friday, Dec. 1, just as Santa was ready to climb aboard the big red engine, there was a fire call.

“Santa was left at the fire station without a ride,” Bennett said.

While a phone call could have easily calmed the worries of the group waiting at Crystal Lake Park, “there is no service. There is zero cell service in downtown Harrison,” she said.

After some discussion, it was decided that Harrison Town Manager Cass Newell would go to the fire station and if necessary, because she is licensed to do so, drive the fire truck with Santa in the passenger seat. By the time Newell got there, public safety personnel were on hand to drive the ‘Jolly Old Elf’ to his destination.

“Santa was 25 minutes late for his arrival. We planned it perfectly, but we cannot plan when a fire call happens,” Bennett said.

She stopped to explain that Christmas in Harrison is not affiliated with the Town of Harrison. The Harrison Recreation Department hosted the tree-lighting on Dec. 1.

“Christmas in Harrison is separate from the Town of Harrison. CIH is an independent non-profit. However, CIH organizers work in close communication with the town,” Bennett said.

There are a lot of behind-the-scene things that happen to pull off any holiday event — be it an evening with Santa or the Saturday morning parade, she said. Every volunteer is a Godsend, she said.

“People don’t realize the amount of work that goes into these events. I was doing really good at tracking my hours. My tracked hours are 214 hours that I personally put into this event. We’ve got four other board members. Those board members came on in April. They have many hours as well that they have put into it,” she said.

As the date approached for Christmas in Harrison (CIH), the time commitment increased.

“I actually took the week off from my full-time job so I can give it my all,” Bennett said.

Another board member agreed it was a time-consuming commitment, but well worth it.

“It was pretty intense. For the past two weeks, our families hardly see us,” according to board member Pamela “Pam” Sessions.

She has always been involved in CIH, but this is her first year being on the board of directors.

“We are a board of five. We are a new board. The five of us started meeting in March. Every month we had a meeting that went into planning the event. Some ran for 2 hours, some 1-1/2 hours. When we got more toward September or October, we met two times a month. For the past two weeks, our families hardly see us. We are all work full time, have families. Three out of five of us have young kids, 4-to 12-years old. This is on a volunteer basis. Nobody gets paid,” Session said.  “We do it for our community. Christmas in Harrison has been around for 37 years. Since 1986.”

Big Responsibility On Shoulders

There are a lot of people relying on the event to take place, she said.

“It is a huge sentimental event for many people. The [Harrison Village Library] has pictures of kids sitting on Santa’s lap. The kids were 4 or 5. Now, those kids are grown,” she said. “Anybody who joined the new board this year was aware that we were taking on large responsibility. This is a tradition that people, that families have done for generations.”

While the old favorites have continued, the CIH board did test out something new.

“We added a couple new things. The biggest was the festival of trees. We had 12 local businesses and families. It was open to the public two days, Friday and Saturday,” Bennett said.  “It covered half of our operating costs — just the festival of trees.”

Most likely, seeing what a successful fundraiser it was, the festival of trees will be a repeat event, she said.

Lot of volunteers assist with all the various activities at difference venues in town.

“The tree-lighting has been a big thing. The cookie walk is the big talk. Everyone is talking about the cookie walk. It runs out so quickly. It is a mystery. Does it really exist? The secret is: You go straight from the parade to the cookie walk,” she said.

In the Town of Bridgton, the parade doesn’t start until the sun goes down. However, preparations for the Festival of Lights are set into motion during a time when the sun is staying up longer — in the summer. 

Bridgton Recreation Director Gary Colello summarized what preparation goes into pulling off multiple activities for the festival, which happened this year on Dec. 2.

“The Rec Department oversees the Festival of Lights event, which includes the Craft and Vendor Fair at Stevens Brook Elementary School, Merry Makers Workshop, pictures with Santa, the parade, tree lighting, and decorating the Town Ice Rink. The town would not look as festive without the Public Works crew putting up all the holiday lights up around town to be ready for the Festival of Lights,”

Getting ready for the holiday festival begins well in advance.

“Preparation starts with an initial game plan in the late summer. From there, each month there is dedicated staff time to prep for the Festival of Lights. Coordinating, organizing, reminding people of the day and time of the parade, advertising and registering vendors, working with the Bridgton Community Center (BCC) as the host site for the tree lighting, as well as speaking with various businesses and organizations to put together an itinerary for the day for people to spend the day in town,” Colello said. 

“Parade coordination takes a lot of effort because of the moving parts it takes to have a successful parade. Police and Fire departments are important partners to be sure we are following through with everything to ensure the safety of everyone in the parade and watching too,” he said.

Also, the rec department reaches out to the community for more parade entries.

“Then, it is not only informing businesses/organizations/families of the parade but also getting them to put a float in the parade,” Colello said. “The Rec Department staff decorates our truck and trailer for the parade, and it is a lot of fun for them to see all the kids and families in the crowd.”

Gearing Up for Santa’s Arrival

Casco Recreation Department Director Beth Latsey was pleased with the number of people who turned out to the Casco Holiday Celebration on Dec. 8, which was a Friday evening.

“We had a fantastic turnout,” Latsey said.

It is heart-warming, she said, to witness how many generations show up to the event, which includes a holiday recital performed by the students at Mayberry Hill Preschool, followed by a visit from Santa. Then, families are free to wander from the cookie-decorating room to the arts and crafts room. Children go home with an armload of holiday goodies and most often some frosting on their faces.

Casco might not have a Christmas parade, but much foresight and work go into preparing for the two-hour evening.

“It takes a lot more people than just the rec department to make it as good as it is,” Latsey said. “We have probably 10 volunteers. We were preparing weeks in advance. The volunteers are very involved citizens in Casco.”

“Mayberry Hill Preschool — They come and do rehearsals. It is not like everybody just shows up on recital night. They have lots of practice,” she said.

Santa is always booked to appear at the Casco Community Center, shortly after the children stop singing. However, this year, a new addition to the event was how Santa arrived.

“The Casco Fire Department was a nice addition this year. I’d like to give them kudos,” Latsey said. 

“We had Mr. and Mrs. Claus and the elf. We haven’t had three in a while. We always get Santa. This year, we had three visitors from the North Pole,” she said.

In nearby Naples, which held its holiday get-together and tree-lighting from 3 to 7 p.m. on Dec. 8, Santa arrived via firetruck. But first, Saint Nick took a ride through the local neighborhoods visiting the children at their homes. 

Naples Town Manager Jason Rogers commented.

“For everyone who was able to come out to this past weekend’s tree-lighting event, you were definitely treated to a winter spectacular,” Rogers said.

“The event delivered 123 stockings, and received 72 letters for Santa, which we will send to him,” he said.

He thanked the people who were on decorating committee and “set the stage for the entire event by hanging lights throughout the town.”

Additionally, he thanked the organizations and day-of volunteers for their selfless actions that made the holidays better for others.

“Volunteerism is the only way events like this happen,” Rogers said.