Bundle up on Monday night and come out for the big Annual Trellis Lighting ceremony in Columbus Park! Mayor Menino will throw the switch and Mayor-Elect Walsh will be part of the festivities!
Beginning at 5:30 pm, Santa Claus will talk with those who’ve been naughty and nice while music from Magic 106.7 will fill the air. Then NEMPAC students and teachers will entertain with Christmas carols while Starbucks coffee and hot chocolate will warm us up. Cookies from the Long Wharf Marriott’s pastry chef are always a sweet treat!
Thank you to the neighbors and businesses who support the Friends of Christopher Columbus Park so that we can light the trellises and 14 trees throughout the park from tomorrow through Patriots’ Day! A special thanks to our major corporate sponsors: Platinum Sponsor, CL Waterfront Properties, LLC and Gold Level Supporters, Al Dente Restaurant, Benevento’s Restaurant, Boston PushCart, The Chiofaro Company, Marriott Long Wharf Boston, NorthEndBoston.com, Sunstone Hotel Investors and Tia’s Restaurant.
See you Monday night!
The Friends of Christopher Columbus Park
Friends of Christopher Columbus Park Illuminate Trellis Display for 11th Straight Year
Park group organizes a festive start to Boston’s holiday season and a fond farewell to Mayor Menino
The Friends of Christopher Columbus Park (FOCCP) will celebrate a Boston holiday tradition with the eleventh annual lighting of the park’s signature trellis on Monday, November 25 beginning at 5:30PM. The entire 260 foot trellis, the architectural centerpiece of the park, will be set aglow by more than 100,000 white and blue lights, as it has for the last 10 years. FOCCP, the all-volunteer organization that organizes and raises the funds for the trellis lighting, hosted almost a thousand members, neighbors, and friends at last year’s lighting event. This year, Mayor Thomas M. Menino will preside over the final trellis lighting of his term, along with Boston Parks Commissioner Antonia M. Pollak and FOCCP President Joanne Hayes-Rines.
“The Friends of Christopher Columbus is proud to fund the over $25,000 necessary each year to maintain and illuminate the trellis and 14 trees for the season,” said Hayes-Rines. “We are also happy to lead various capital efforts to improve the park, including the upcoming $100,000 upgrade to the trellis lights which will see the latest technology LED lights installed in time for next year’s lighting.”
The major corporate sponsors for this year’s trellis and tree lighting are The Chiofaro Company, CL Waterfront Properties, Marriott Long Wharf Boston, NorthEndBoston.com, Sunstone Hotel Investors, and Tia’s Restaurant. “With the ambitious docket of projects before us, we are more dependent than ever on the generosity of our members, both private and corporate, in Boston and outside the city, who help us fund these efforts,” said Hayes-Rines. “We have been one of the most successful Friends groups to support a city park – we appreciate everyone’s help and continued donations to keep pulling all this off.”
“We are delighted to join FOCCP once again for this decade-long holiday tradition” said Parks Commissioner Antonia Pollak. “Volunteer organizations working closely with city departments have made a big difference for our parks and for Christopher Columbus Park in particular.”
The trellis lighting evening event, beginning at 5:30, will include a musical performance by the North End Music and Performing Arts Center (NEMPAC) Children’s Choir, a visit from Santa, and free hot chocolate from Starbucks and cookies from the Marriott. The Mayor will share some thoughts and remembrances about the park and his mayorship as he throws the switch to light the trellis one last time. Other fun surprises are planned for this special evening as well.
The Friends of Christopher Columbus Park (FOCCP) is an all-volunteer non-profit organization comprised of North End and Waterfront residents and businesses whose purpose is to further the restoration, protection, preservation, care, enhancement, improvement, and maintenance of the Christopher Columbus Waterfront Park. The FOCCP works closely with the City of Boston Parks and Recreation Department to keep the Park clean and well maintained, and with other city and state organizations to improve the Park to enrich the lives of both residents and visitors to Boston.
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The current FOCCP officers are Joanne Hayes-Rines (President), Ann Babbitt (Vice President), Virginia Kimball (Treasurer) and Audrey Tortolani (Clerk). Board members are Joe Bono, Ford Cavallari, Meghan Denenberg, Beverly Knight, Robyn Reed and Christina Sperry.
