The holiday seasons begins as the Warwick Valley Gardeners light up the Green

Like many popular events ushering in the holiday season last year, the traditional lighting ceremony at Railroad Green was held but only welcomed a smaller than usual crowd of local residents, wearing masks and practicing social distancing.

But this year a huge crowd, some still wearing masks, gathered on the Green to witness the 19th annual lighting event.

The ceremony began with traditional Christmas carols sung by members of the Warwick Valley High School Treble Choir and Meistersingers directed by Anthony Roca.

This year, the Warwick Valley Gardeners selected “Let it snow, let it snow” as the theme for its Winter Project.

Laurie Unick, president of The Gardeners, served as chair of the event and did the countdown for the lighting. She also announced that there were now 80 members of the organization.

Village of Warwick Mayor Michael Newhard spoke about the well-known Frank Capra motion picture, “It’s a wonderful life,” where the main character, George Bailey, contemplates suicide, thinking things will be better if he was not around.

But an angel shows him how different and how much worse things would be for his community if he had not been born.

“How different would this community be if the Warwick Valley Gardeners did not exist,” questioned Newhard who went on to explain how the Gardeners help create an environment that attracts visitors to the area and improves the quality of life for its residents..

Established in 1992, the Warwick Valley Gardeners Club is a member the Federated Garden Clubs of New York State, Inc. and the National Council of State Garden Clubs.

For additional information visit: https://warwickgardeners.com/

- Roger Gavan