Holiday Lights Return To Greenwich Avenue

GREENWICH, CT — After months of planning and fundraising, the holiday lights along Greenwich Avenue made their triumphant return last week to mark the start of the holiday season.

Sebastian Dostmann, who worked on the "Let There Be Lights" initiative with fellow resident Alyssa Keleshian Bonomo, said in an announcement the final touches were made on the display Thanksgiving night.

"With so much uncertainty about what lies ahead, we believed that bringing back the tree lighting tradition would be more important than ever," Bonomo said in a statement. "We hope it provides much-needed joy and vitality to our beloved downtown during the holiday season."

The display was made possible this year through the collaborative fundraising efforts of Dostmann, Bonomo and Greenwich residents for the Greenwich Community Projects Fund.

First Selectman Fred Camillo praised Dostmann and Bonomo for their hard work on this project. (To sign up for Greenwich breaking news alerts and more, click here.)

"They really stepped up and got working on it right away," Camillo said. "Due to their great efforts, there's now lights on the avenue."

This year marks the return of the lights after the avenue went dark last holiday season, upsetting many residents, Camillo said.

"We got sworn in on Dec. 1, and...we did hear right off the bat people really missed [the lights]," Camillo said, "so we started to have meetings right away on that."

He also noted plans were already in motion to bring the lights back to the avenue again for the 2021 holiday season.

"We do everything right now with a sense of permanency," Camillo said. "How can we make these things permanent, not just temporary? Even if it's a one-off temporary event or display, we always talk about how we could make it permanent and how we can do it in the future to make it an annual thing."

Camillo said the lights were a welcome sight in a year that has been tough on most residents in light of the coronavirus crisis.

"We're hearing from everybody the lights just pick up their mood," Camillo said, "and I think that's especially important this year...we may have the end in sight with this [virus], but we’re still in it, so this really is a great pick me up."

Greenwich Chamber of Commerce president Marcia O'Kane said she hoped the lights would encourage residents to support local businesses along the avenue this holiday season.

"Everyone is so excited to see the holiday lights return to Greenwich Avenue," O'Kane said. "They lend a true vibrancy to our town. This has been a challenging year, so we ask everyone to please come out to see the lights and support your local stores and restaurants this holiday season."

Did you like that story? Invite your friends to subscribe to Patch.