Light up Bay Village for the holiday season

Once again this holiday season, the Christmas spirit will shine a little more brightly in Bay Village.

The Bay Village Historical Society and the Bay Village Kiwanis are asking Bay Village residents and children of all ages to join them in celebrating an old-fashioned community Christmas on Sunday, Dec. 2, from 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. A kickoff to the holiday season, the event will include the reading of holiday stories, caroling and crafts for kids in the Bay Village Community House, the Kiwanis Christmas tree sale, a visit by Santa Claus and the lighting of the community tree in the Cahoon Memorial Park gazebo. Residents can help to “Light up Bay Village” by placing luminaries in their yards that evening.      

“Christmas through the Trenches,” part of the free speakers’ series at Reuben Osborn Learning Center, will be presented at 2 p.m. Mary Louise Daley will explore how our parents and grandparents kept Christmas celebratory for their families during difficult wartime periods. Daley is an advocate of history, with a graduate degree from Case Western Reserve University, and has developed various historic period programs.

Tables in the Community House are available for the sale of Christmas ornaments and merchandise. Any civic or school groups interested in taking part in the festivities or selling holiday merchandise should contact Cynthia Eakin at info@bayhistorical.com or 216-213-0312, Rhonda Schneider at baykiwanis@gmail.com or 216-225-6538.

Santa Claus will leave the Bay Lodge on a fire truck at about 2 p.m. and will arrive at the Community House about 3:30 p.m. The Bay High Choraleers will sing holiday tunes beginning at 3:15 p.m. The Fairytale Foundation will provide photo opportunities. There will be a reading of, “’Twas the Night before Christmas.” The tree lighting will take place at the gazebo at about 4:30 p.m. The Bay Village Community Theatre will present a full production of the holiday classic, “A Christmas Carol,” beginning at 5:30 p.m. in the Community House. Admission is free and open to the public.