Santa's Arrival & Festival of Lights

Louise R. Naismith November 24, 2012 at 01:01 am

What an unfortunate decision by the Media Business Authority. As State Street business owners, we watched as hundreds of customers walked right past all of the stores on State Street, and out of the Media retail district to Santa's location on a deserted office street. Very few of the visitors returned to shop that night after Santa's arrival. The magic of the LIghting Ceremony was completely missed, because no one was on State Street to see the tree and buildings light up. It is our hope that others will send you their disappointed comments, so the original holiday festival location can be returned to Media's retail district next year, capping off Black Friday, the biggest retail day of the year.

Frank and Gigi Deady November 24, 2012 at 03:26 am

We were very disappointed in Santa's arrival ceremony. We have been to every one of these events and greatly enjoyed the anticipation of Santa arriving to light up State Street. Past events were well planned beginning with musicians warming up the crowd, moving on to Santa's arrival to a cheering crowd and peaking with the lighting of State Street. Like many others, we would then enjoy a stroll down State Street, admiring the lights and stopping in several of the businesses. This year, the carolers could not be heard, the crowd lacked excitement and the lights were a block away. Return this wonderful tradition to State Street.

Deborah Shipley November 24, 2012 at 01:36 pm

Thank you for your comment Louise. The decision was made to change the venue based on the strong recommendation from the fire and police companies for public safety reasons. We understand your disappointment and will look into ways to bring more people back onto State Street next year. Please let us know if you have any further ideas.

Deborah Shipley November 24, 2012 at 01:37 pm

Thank you for your comment Frank and Deady. The decision was made to change the venue based on the strong recommendation from the fire and police companies for public safety reasons. We can always improve our events and we appreciate your feedback.

Gigi Deady November 24, 2012 at 08:47 pm

Thanks for your reply, Deborah, but what about the parades on State Street, particularly the Halloween parade. I think there would be a bigger safety concern with children running in the street picking up candy being thrown by people in passing vehicles and where is the safety concern on Veteran's Day when there are numerous fire trucks coming down State Street?