One man was overheard to have traveled three hours to make it. Another arrived on a fire truck with his favorite helper Sparkles.

Officially debuting December 1 with a crowd plus refreshments and lights was the City Hall Tree Lighting, officially starting at 6 p.m. but with people arriving well beforehand to mingle and reminisce.

Starting things out Wednesday night were the members of the Park High School Choir who sang several choral numbers, while the tree lighting at 6 p.m. saw two evergreens share their luminescence with the sky.

Before long a fire truck was heard to arrive, with a well-traveled man this year (in a red suit) and his helper Sparkles arriving to take pictures with children. Taking the mic after an introduction by Mayor Myron Bailey, the man—maybe you know his name—announced that he would be in Cottage Grove all month, much to the children’s delight. Cottage Grove royalty helped to serve refreshments, and before long it was time to get pictures taken, complete with a large wooden chair and a stand in front for timed camera shots. With a mail box on site for letters to Santa, the City Hall tree lighting went off without a flawlessly December 1, with a large crowd of delighted guests.

Letters to Santa had their own special mailbox December1.