Excited children peered through the windows of the Reading Country Club Dec. 1 to get their first peek at Santa as he arrived aboard one of Exeter’s fire trucks. Santa’s arrival marked the beginning of the holiday season in Exeter, which held its annual Festival of Lights celebration for the fourth year in a row at the country club.
According to Exeter Township Parks and Recreation Superintendent Joe Seltzer III, the Festival of Lights celebration has been going on for as long as he can remember. In his 15 years working for the township, he says the event was moved to two different locations before finally settling in at the Reading Country Club.
The country club proved to be a grand location for the event. Members of the Exeter Parks and Recreation Department’s maintenance crew worked tirelessly to prepare the country club for the event by hanging lights, garland, wreaths, bows, and other holiday swag. The inside of the building looked timelessly festive with two large Christmas trees dressed with sparkling white lights and garland hanging on the high walls of the large ballroom.
The Festival of Lights is widely attended by members of the Exeter community who are looking to get into the holiday spirit and get their children’s pictures taken with Santa.
The Exeter Community Chorus kicked of the event by singing holiday classics in perfect harmony. Attendees shuffled in one-by-one and helped themselves to hot chocolate, cookies, and other refreshments provided by the Exeter Dairy Queen.
There were also several activities available to keep anxious children occupied while waiting to see Santa. Metro Bank provided a craft table where children personalized Santa hats to wear while meeting the big guy in red. Children also kept busy by writing messages and wish lists to deliver to Santa.
Excited little ones lined up to look for their coloring contest entries, which lined the walls of the ballroom entrance.
The township received over 200 entries for their annual coloring contest, which required entrants to color the picture of Santa that was printed on the backside of the Festival of Lights flyer. Winners of the coloring contest were chosen at random, and the winners were announced at the Festival of Lights before Santa’s arrival.
The prizes for the coloring contest, sponsored by the Exeter Parks and Recreation Department, were gift cards for first, second, and third place winners in four age categories.
After the coloring contest winners collected their prizes, a suspenseful air filled the room as children gathered along the wall of windows to get a peek of Santa’s arrival. Santa and his helper pulled into the country club, and the line to see Santa started to form.
The line to see Santa ran down the winding staircase leading up to the ballroom, and Santa’s helpers had to clear the way so Santa could make his way to the large red and gold chair that was set up for him. The chair, provided by Home Depot, was positioned next to a Christmas tree on a small side stage in the ballroom, which made for picturesque visits with Santa.
Wendy Orzolek and United Star Methodist Church had photo printers and cameras on hand to provide parents with free pictures of their children as they told Santa what they wanted for Christmas.
As the visits with Santa took place, attendees were entertained by the Exeter High School Brass Ensemble and the Berks Ballet Theatre. Members of the Berks Ballet Theatre gave a sneak peak of their upcoming performance of The Nutcracker.
Despite a skipping CD that made the music a little choppy, the young ballerinas kept their cool and never missed a step. Children sitting around the perimeter of the dance floor watched in awe as sugarplum fairies twirled and Clara clutched her wooden Nutcracker prince.
Berks Ballet Theatre will be performing The Nutcracker in its entirety at the Scottish Rite Cathedral in Reading Dec. 20 and Dec. 21.
For tickets to The Nutcracker, visit www.berksballettheatre.com or call 610-373-7577.
