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Cole Mertz

Mayor Dane Slater gives a speech.

     The City of Troy hosted its annual Christmas tree lighting on Dec. 8 at the Civic Center. The event consisted not only of the lighting itself, but a speech from Mayor Dane Slater, performances by both the Athens choir and Troy High drumline and a special appearance by Mr. and Mrs. Claus.

    “For our annual Christmas tree lighting we have had choirs from a variety of TSD schools performing at the event,” community affairs director Cindy Stewart said. “For many years now, it’s been choirs from Athens High School. I thought it would be nice to have students from Troy High represented as well, so a few years ago I had the idea to ask the Troy High Drumline if they would perform and march in with Santa Claus.”

     This is the fifth year that the city has hosted this event, and it has a drawn a large attendance from adults and children alike. The choir made sure to interest kids in the audience in their performance by including sing-along renditions of “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” and “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.”

     “We just have fun and we get to see the joy on the kids’ faces and It’s amazing,” Athens High School junior choir member Mikayla Specci said.

      After the Athens choir’s performance, Troy’s drumline made sure both schools were represented by marching in with Santa Claus. The Colts led the march to and from each of the event’s key destinations, moving to the library after the tree lighting concluded.

     “Even though the drumline isn’t necessarily at its best, [the audience members] still feed off our energy, and they still really enjoy our presence there,” senior drumline member Caelan Verhelst said.

     The event wouldn’t have been possible without the community’s support. Local businesses such as Tim Hortons and Troy Auto Care sponsored the event, providing refreshments for those who attended and funds to make it happen.

     “The City of Troy thanks the sponsors and also our Athens and Troy High students for participating in Winter Wonderland as performers and volunteers,” Stewart said. “We are very fortunate to have such dedicated young people in our community.”