While the Chamber was not able to host everyone in town for the annual Holiday Stroll, there was plenty of holiday magic in New Canaan this December.
So many of our community members worked together to make downtown feel special and we wanted to take this opportunity to give a special shout out to the people and organizations that helped the Chamber keep so many of New Canaan’s important traditions alive.
Over 170 families, organizations and businesses donated to the 2020 Holiday Lights campaign which lit up downtown New Canaan starting the week of Thanksgiving. Of course, a big shout out to Rob Hutchinson and his dedicated crew who carefully place and maintain the lights over the three months they are up.
Marc Harrison and his team of SLOBS (Service League of Boys) gave up a Sunday afternoon to hang the garland and white lights which had been donated by Greggs Garden Center on all the lampposts in town. Also, an extra thank you to long time New Canaan residents Dan Mulhern, Scott Melland and John Linnartz for acting as crew chiefs. The lampposts had close to 90 sponsors whose names can be seen on the individual tags that were hung by National Charity League Class of 2023 Ticktockers.
Every year Halstead (now Brown Harris Stevens) purchases 150 Gingerbread House Kits and distributes them to New Canaan families who spend their Thanksgiving weekend decorating them. These homemade architectural gems can be seen in store windows all over town. Walter Stewart’s Market sources these kits every year and delivers them to Halstead at their cost.
Santa made an appearance, and we want to thank Steve Benko, Bill Kapp, and the team at Waveny House for providing a beautiful and safe setting for The Chamber and Sponsor Houlihan Lawrence to host close to 80 families for a photo op with the man in the red suit. The New Canaan Garden Club provided beautiful trees that made for the perfect backdrop for the photos. The event also served as a food drive for the New Canaan Food Pantry and the families that attended generously provided three cartloads of provisions for local families in need.
Behind the scenes New Canaan’s municipal crews worked tirelessly to make sure downtown looked amazing, from clearing snow to moving trees Tiger, Mose and their entire crew deserve a big round of applause from all of us.
And finally, a shout out to our local businesses who after an exceedingly difficult year pulled out all the stops to fill their stores with unique items. We featured some of these business owners in our Holiday Doors of New Canaan video series, if you have not had a chance to view the series you can check it out on the Connect New Canaan Channel on YouTube. This project would not have been possible without the financial support of Bankwell, Stewarts Wine & Spirits and Walter Stewart’s Market and the talents of the team at Nurenu Brand Marketing. Local resident John Patrick Walsh got in on the action by providing the voice over talent to the project.
It takes a village, and ours certainly rose to the occasion. We wish all our friends and neighbors a happy and healthy New Year.
Laura Budd
Executive Director, New Canaan Chamber of Commerce
Thank you Laura for recognizing the organizations, businesses, town workers, and citizens responsible for our own little ‘winter wonderland’. I have always wondered where the gingerbread houses come from, who decorates the lamp posts etc. A special thank you to everyone involved including the budding artists responsible for decorating the beautiful and creative gingerbread houses. Happy 2021!