Lighting things up
City event kicks off the holiday season in style
With thousands looking on, Cooper City Elementary School fifth-grader Zoe McClure counted down to help throw the switch with Mayor Greg Ross to illuminate Memorial Park during Light Up Cooper City.
Zoe, 10, won the annual contest to help the mayor flip the oversized light switch.
“This was the last year she could enter and she won,” said her mother, Jena McClure. “She was so excited.”
With the switch flipped on, thousands of bulbs wrapped around trees, outlining the gazebo and arched over walkways lit up the park.
“Throughout the event, people come and go,” recreation director Lynda Good said. “We get 1,500 to 2,000 people.”
The big draw was Santa Claus,
who rode to the event in a Broward Sheriff ’s Office Fire Rescue truck, lights and sirens blazing. Local schools and organizations sold homemade baked goods, crafts and glow sticks to fundraise for uniforms and more.
The night also featured musical and chorus performances from local schools such as Griffin Elementary, Franklin Academy and Pioneer Middle.
Tom Duhart, art teacher at Pioneer Middle, attended the event with his children. His advanced art students painted a panel on display at Memorial Park.
“This is the first work they’ve done here,” he said. “They’re pretty proud to have something to represent them at such a big community event.”
Duhart’s daughter Britnee, 22, said she’s attended Light Up Cooper City since she was in middle school.
“The whole town gets together a couple of times a year, and this is one of them,” she said. “It really has a family feel.”
Cooper City’s event was one of several staged that weekend in southwest Broward. Miramar hosted two holiday lighting ceremonies, one at Miramar Town Center and the other at Shirley Branca Park.
The Town Center event featured performances by the New Renaissance Middle School band and Christway Baptist Church’s adult and children choirs.
The Branca Park event featured a holiday show, midway games, visits with characters and Santa Claus and more.
Children in Pembroke Pines played in 50 tons of snow at the annual SnowFest at the Pines Recreation Center.
New this year was an ice rink. The event also featured carnival rides, face painting, arts and crafts and visits with Santa.