The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Christmas Village parade
Children squeezed their parents’ hands and yelled in delight when the season’s guests of honor arrived by horsedrawn carriage.
Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus brought up the rear of the Christmas Village parade that traveled down Main Street in Sunday’s parade celebrating the 70th annual opening of Carl Bozenski’s Christmas Village at 150 Church St., the destination of the parade. St. Nick and his wife induced kids’ gasps of “It’s Santa!”
The weather cooperated, being in the 30s with a backdrop of snow that fell Saturday, which was a good thing because about 1,000 Torrington’s residents turned out to prove they take Christmas seriously.
“I have attended every year of my 67 years,” declared Cecile Schaer of New Hartford, who came to the parade with her two granddaughters, Mariah, 5, and Nora, 4, both of Torrington. “It’s a great tradition.”
Nora said her favorite part of the parade were the jumpropers in the Forbes Flyers marching group; Mariah said hers was seeing a friend in the Girl Scout Daisy Troop 40057.
Torrington Parks and Recreation Superintendent Brett Simmons was on hand to supervise the running of the event. He said prior to the parade: “It’s amazing, the people who turn out every year. It’s a longtime fun tradition of the town.” Simmons also said that there were far more groups marching this season than in recent years.
Twenty-three parade groups had assembled at Fuessenich Park near the Torrington Armory on South Main Street, all marching down a blocked-off Main Street to Mason and Church Streets. Torrington resident Cindy Starr continued her longtime tradition of being in the forefront of the parade dressed as Frosty the Snowman. The first-ever parade marshal, Glenn Royals of Torrington, led the parade driving a vintage convertible car.
Led by the high-energy playing of the Torrington High School band, marching in the parade were students from Torrington’s VogelWetmore School, who were dressed like merry and whimsical Who characters from Dr. Seuss’ “How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” Torrington’s Mayor’s Committee on Youth, a 20-member local group involved with the community, wore outfits as gingerbread men and Christmas trees.
On the float from Washington’s Miss Stacey’s Early Childhood Education Center children and adults wore costumes having a “Polar Express” children’s book and movie theme. Preceded by people wearing giant Tyrannosaurus Rex costumes in the flatbed of a truck, Oliver Wolcott Technical School in Torrington students wore costumes based on “The Night Before Christmas,” the Clement Clarke Moore holiday poem, while contemporary holiday songs played on their float’s speakers.
Local military groups such as The Gilbert School Army STAR Cadets; Torrington High School J.R.O.T.C.; and the U.S. Army Recruiting Center all marched in the parade.
The parade passed by other ongoing Torrington holiday events along Main Street. The Nutmeg Ballet Conservatory at 58 Main St. had its annual matinee performances of “The Nutcracker.” The Warner Theatre at 68 Main St. is currently showing Karl Ludwig’s “The Game’s Afoot, or Holmes for the Holidays.”
A few blocks away from the parade route, the Hotchkiss-Fyler House Museum at 192 Main St. opened on Saturday to give Christmas Tours through Dec. 30. The 1900 mansion features ornate chandeliers, painted and stenciled walls, and now holiday greenery.
Last year, Society Executive Director Mark McEachern had pointed out some history on the nearby Christmas Village, which was created by Carl Bozenski, a former Torrington Parks and Recreation program director who had reportedly become frustrated with the holiday’s commercialization.
“Christmas Village was started in 1947 on a trial basis,” McEachern had
commented previously. “It had been a new idea. There was a good turnout.”
Christmas Village grew dramatically in popularity. The next year saw 20,000 visitors, McEachern said. “It has its charm, and it is true to its original purpose: as a noncommercial celebration of the holidays.” He added, “It is a tradition that is popular across generations.”
Sunday’s 2017 parade and several hundreds of visitors arrived at Christmas Village on Church Street, queueing up to see Santa. A ceremony inaugurated the opening of the Tudor-style brick building decked out in wreaths, large red gift ribbons and Christmas lights. The show played inside the gates to the audience outside. The show was emceed by Casey McKenna, longtime host of Torrington’s annual Northwest Idol and Northwest Kid Rock singing contests.
Following a benediction by Torrington’s St. Maron’s Maronite Church deacon Steven Marcus, Kennedy Morris, the 2015 Northwest Kid Rock winner, sang “The Star-Spangled Banner” and later “O Holy Night” for the crowd.
Also in attendance were state Rep. Michelle Cook and Torrington Mayor Elinor Carbone, who addressed this year’s visitors while in front of
the Christmas Village house. Carbone acknowledged the hard work of the volunteers at Christmas Village: “They have kept a tradition going strong and preserved exactly as it was 70 years ago.”
Mrs. Claus took the microphone and thanked the crowd. “I have been here 20 years,” she said, “and through the years I have seen children and their grandchildren, and now their great-grandchildren.”
After the front gates to Christmas Village were opened, hundreds of visitors journeyed inside to see holiday tableaux worthy of a Norman Rockwell painting. In a rustic living room bedecked with a holiday tree and gifts and a roaring fire, children sat on Santa’s lap by the fireplace; some confided holiday wishes to Mrs. Claus in her own room across the building; while still others peeked in on Santa’s silent elves in the back of the building, who were seen diligently checking lists twice in the workshop.
Simmons said of Christmas Village: “There is nothing like it. We tweak parts of it every year but also keep to the traditional magic that makes it work.”