Borough Hall Tree Lighting

Who would've guessed I would be able to attend the Borough Hall Tree Lighting as Miss Staten Island...again? It is definitely an honor to be able to "relive" all of the appearances that I thought I would only attend once.

It was a rainy day, on December 7th, when all of the Staten Island titleholders went to Borough Hall to light the Christmas Tree. Last year, the ceremony was outside, but this year, the weather moved it indoors. Nevertheless, the celebration was equally as festive.

Because none of the titleholders are singers, Alexa, Hannah, Stephanie, and I recited the pledge to kick of the event. To follow, students from elementary and intermediate schools joined us to sing some holiday tunes. We even had a special guest -- Scooter the Holy Cow!

After all of the performances, we gathered in the hallway to the light the tree. The four of us pulled on the giant lever as the crowd counted down. 5...4...3...2...1...LIGHTS!

Santa made an appearance, as well, to ask the children what they wanted for Christmas and take pictures. Sponsors including Macy's and Aflac donated toys to give to children that night. Though the turnout was not as large as last year (because of the weather) we still had many children to give gifts to and it was a joy to see their smiling faces as we did.

Thank you to the Borough President, James Molinaro, for having all of us, once again. I had a lot of fun and am grateful that I had the opportunity to experience it for the second time.