This weekend, Monroe kicked off Christmas with their 20th annual Christmas Tree Lighting.
The town of Monroe gathered around the Town Hall gazebo, Saturday, Dec. 2, at five pm and took part in the festivities, such as performances from the Masuk Choir, Band, and Orchestra as well as Harmony on the Sound Chorus.
The performers were decked in holiday cheer with Santa hats, necklaces adorned in Christmas lights and other decorations that bounced on their heads and accented the gazebo.
Glistening icicles dropped down the roof of the home for the Christmas tree, which was donated by Jones Tree Farm.
With the help of Monroe Social and Dunkin’ Donuts, spirits of families and friends were kept warm and bright with hot cocoa, cider, coffee and donuts.
The event started off with the performance of Harmony on the Sound Chorus, a chorus made up of women from 33 different towns across Connecticut. It is a chapter of Sweet Adelines International and apart of the North Atlantic Region #1, which includes all of New England, and the Canadian Maritimes. They sang Christmas carol favorites, such as “Christmas Time is Here”, “Rocking Around the Christmas Tree” and “Deck the Halls”.
Following the first Chorus came the Masuk Chorus, directed by Margaret Chaves. They performed carols such as “Let it Snow”, “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer”, “Jingle Bell Rock” and “Frosty the Snowman”.
Masuk’s Orchestra, directed by Lisa Homan, and Band, directed by Michael Ances, surrounded the to-be-lit tree and carried on the Christmas cheer with performances of Holiday Medley, a piece where Jingle Bells and Jolly Old St. Nicholas were intertwined to create a magical tune.
According to Director Ances, The Masuk music department has took part in this town tradition for almost 15 years: “It’s a great town tradition, but has also become a band tradition because we attend every year, if you look around, there are people from the gazebo all the way to the street in every direction you look, I love to see the families dressed up in Santa hats and kids dressed in pajamas and costumes!”
The performances received positive feedback from the families and children snuggled together with warm beverages in hand.
At the strike of six pm, Santa and Mrs. Claus came dashing through Monroe on a fire truck, with the help of The Monroe Fire Department, Station One.
With their holiday magic, Santa and Mrs. Claus lit Monroe’s Christmas tree, receiving cheers from all who attended. Many thanks were given around as parents got to capture the memories of the night, with photographs of their children with Santa. However, we should all be grateful for those who sponsored the event, The Monroe Women’s Club.
On December 1st, 1976, six local women sought to help the development of the town. The purpose of the club is to promote educational and philanthropic community service to Monroe, as well as provide members with the opportunity for personal enrichment, leadership experience and social interaction. It is a non-profit, non-sectarian, non-political organization.
The club has been dedicated to community service for 47 years, this was their 20th tree lighting.
John Buck, husband of Women’s Club Co-President Adele Buck, was MC for the night and organized the event for the Monroe public.
“We [Buck and his wife], want to spread the holiday cheer to the Monroe residents, to create joy and happiness for the holiday season,” stated Buck. “We think this is a great way of celebrating the holidays, we’re spreading the joy for a joyous season!”
Masuk Free Press 
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