Belleville’s annual Winter Festival and Christmas Tree Lighting Spectacular is set for Saturday, Dec. 10, at Belleville High School starting at 5:30 p.m.
There will be free refreshments, a petting zoo, horse-drawn carriage rides, music and food vendors, trackless train rides, face painting, candy cane mazes and much more. (No matter whether you’ve been naughty or nice.)
The celebration would not be complete without chestnuts roasted over an open fire — a family tradition shared by Deputy Mayor Thomas Graziano.
The tree lighting is scheduled for 8 p.m.
“Thanks to our partnership with the Belleville School District, this has quickly become one of the most beloved Belleville events,” Mayor Michael Melham said. “The night is about making spirits bright and spreading a festive feeling across our great town.”
For children who won’t be able attend the festival and miss the chance to get up and personal with Santa Claus, they are still encouraged to write him a letter.
Three mailboxes have been placed around Belleville where children of all ages may drop their letters, postage-free, no later than Dec. 15. Santa is busy in the workshop, so the earlier the letters reach the North Pole, the better.
The mailboxes are at Town Hall (152 Washington Ave.), the Belleville Public Library (221 Washington Ave.) and the Silver Lake Fire House (134 Franklin St.)
Please include the child’s name and address, the school the child attends and grade, as well as an accomplishment over this past year. Also include what the child is wishing and hoping for this year, and any other important details that Santa ought to know.
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Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, an organization he has served since 2006. He is responsible for the editorial content of the newspaper and website, the production of the e-Newspaper, writing several stories per week (including the weekly editorial), conducting live broadcasts on social media channels such as YouTube, Facebook, and X, including a weekly recap of the news — and much more behind the scenes. Between 2006 and 2008, he introduced the newspaper to its first-ever blog — which included podcasts, audio and video. Originally from Jersey City, Kevin lived in Kearny until 2004, lived in Port St. Lucie. Florida, for four years until February 2016 and in March of that year, he moved back to Kearny to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.