Staff Writer
CARIBOU, Maine — Black Friday may be notorious for ornery crowds and humbug attitudes, the crowd that gathered about the Caribou Fire Department, Family Chiropractic, and the United Baptist Church showed nothing but good tidings and joy towards their neighbors. Participants waited patiently for Santa to light the trees, and children waited their turn to speak with Santa and his friends. Denise Longley, chiropractic assistant with Family Chiropractic, attended the Friday festivities.
“My favorite part is right before the tree lighting when people are gathering around and socializing with each other and the characters,” she said. “Family Chiropractic really enjoys being a part of the event.”
There were two tree lightings in Caribou this year, one atop the Caribou Fire Department and one in front of Family Chiropractic. Members of the United Baptist Church handed out free cups of hot chocolate to anyone who needed a little extra warmth to combat Friday night’s quintessential snowfall.
Most of those who attended met gathered in the parking lot of Family Chiropractic, where they sipped on hot chocolate, interacted with the holiday characters, and listened to the carolers singing Christmas songs from the steps of the United Baptist Church.
Once Santa and Mrs. Claus had arrived with Miss Caribou, holiday greetings were given and the tree was lit.
Though lingering for a bit at the tree outside of Family Chiropractic, the group eventually found their way to the Caribou Fire Department.
On a count of three, Santa and the crowd lit the tree atop the station, and then proceeded inside so that the children might get a chance to tell Santa what they wanted for Christmas.
“I think the turn out was better this year than last year,” Longley said.
The event brought out a couple of first-time participants, including Romeo and Starr Bouchard.
“It’s our first time coming to this,” Romeo said, “our neighbors were talking about it so we came to get out of the house and see what all of this was about.”
Another first-time participant was Kara Madore, and she was pretty excited about it.
“I’ve never met Santa before,” she said. Madore intended on asking Santa for a Baby Alive.
Andrea Peterson was happy that the weather was better.
“We came out last year and there was a lot more snow,” she said.
At the United Baptist Church, Betty McKenna started preparing the hot chocolate about an hour before the first cup was officially served.
“We do it for the community to help usher in Christmas spirit,” she said, “as long as there’s a tree lighting, we’ll keep caroling and serving hot chocolate.”
