More than 3,000 residents sang, danced, and skated for hours at the Village Green leading up to the tree lighting on Sunday night.
The event ran from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. and kicked off the winter wonderland at the park which is running until Jan. 12.
“It’s so great to see this kind of turnout for a celebration of the holiday season finally being here,” Great Neck Park District Superintendent Jason Marra said. “It’s events like these that really bring our community together.”
The Village Green was flooded with residents lining up left and right to experience everything that the park district orchestrated. Activites and food were available throughout the night, keeping parents and kids thoroughly entertained.
“We like to listen to what the public has to offer,” Marra said. “Putting this all together was a collaborative effort between our great maintenance staff at the park district, the Alert Fire Company, and input from what the people wanted to see.”
Residents had their first chance to christen the ice skating rink that will be in the Village Green until Jan. 12.
Skaters Ilana Sherman, Kaitlin Krafchik, Sue Zhang and Francesca Cilluffo all performed in front of the crowd two synchronized skating teams followed them.
Sherman is an 18-year-old who has competed in the U.S. National Figure Skating Championships in 2016 and 2017. Sunday night she was awarded a banner for her achievements in figure skating by the park district.
The performances by the skaters left some to reminisce about their own experiences in the park district as a kid.
“Watching these girls skate reminded me of when I was younger and used to take skating lessons and always finished each practice with a churro,” Great Neck resident Hailey Rosenblatt said. “So much of tonight reminded me of all the park events I would attend as a kid, but now it’s even better than I can still enjoy nights like these years later.”
The waffle hut provided an array of food from chocolate-drizzled waffles to cups of warm chili for those in attendance. Gingerbread men were also decorated with frosting and candy before being promptly devoured by their creators after pictures were taken.
Kids spent a majority of their evenings either navigating their way through an inflatable obstacle course, jumping around in a bounce house, or showing their moves in a dance party on the gazebo.
After residents turned in their skates, they had the opportunity to rent out a fire pit to make s’mores and warm themselves with hot chocolate.
At 5:30 p.m. Marra led a countdown to illuminate over 20 trees in the park, which resulted in thunderous applause and cheering.
“Once again, I’m extremely grateful to live in a park district that organizes events like this for the community,” one resident said. “The holidays are about bringing people together, and I feel like that was accomplished tonight.”
Marra said that later this week the park district will be announcing the next slate of events for their winter wonderland program, including more skate shows, rental igloos, and a holiday pop up shop on Sunday, Dec. 15.
