This year, Avenel hosted its first Christmas Tree Lighting on November 25th, 2018, and it was a huge hit for the holidays.

Overview

Woodbridge Township has been hosting different Christmas Tree lighting’s in their 10 towns for quite a long time, and Avenel has finally joined the trend. Taking place of Avenel Day, which used to have a parade and a community event with different vendors and activities afterwards at Frank G. Pelzman Memorial Park; Avenel Day gets the short end of the stick and has poor weather. This year, the committee decided that a holiday event would be a better idea. Although some people may be upset about this change, it seems to be a perfect replacement.

Entertainment

Throughout the year, the Avenel Day Committee had been preparing for this event endlessly. They were able to obtain vendors like Dunkin’ Donuts, Scentsy, WaWa, and some small businesses to come and sell their products at the event. One of the most important things though, the Christmas tree. Being that the tree was very expensive and there was no way they could pay for it all themselves, they had to find some help. Hank Incognito, Avenel Pharmacy owner, is able to pitch in and is this years “switch flipper.”

People from all around Woodbrdge Township came out to this event. There were even special musical performances too. The choirs from both Avenel Middle School and Woodbridge High School came out to sing tunes to put the audience in the holiday spirit. Colonia High School Sophomore, Alexis Bruck, stated, that the tree lighting was very fun and that the music was one of her favorite parts.

Aside from the big Christmas tree being lit, there was also a menorah. As you can tell, the committee catered to all aspects for the holidays. The mennorah was a surprise to some because the tree lighting, but the menorah was a nice touch. Most tree lighting’s do only involve the key word, a Christmas tree. It was a nice touch for other holidays to receive recognition.

The Big Switch

Of course there has to be someone that’s in charge of it all. The Avenel Day Committee took this role and did a bang up job doing so. Making the switch was a tough decision, but it sure was the right one. Avenel Day always got an okay turnout, but it was nothing like the one on this night. When asked about the change, Councilman Cory Spillar states, “Every town in Woodbridge has a tree lighting, this made more sense and was attended by hundreds.”

This tree lighting was a highlight in Avenel history. Everyone seemed to love the switch, and it made the night a wonderful event. When people are having a good time, it makes the atmosphere so much better. There was talk of it happening again next year and it would be a really great year. The lighting was a great night and hopefully we’ll see it again next year.