Via Community News Service and VTSU-Castleton for Lakes Region Living
CASTLETON — The village of Castleton was booming with excitement on the evening of Saturday, Dec. 6, as trucks and trailers lit Main Street with bright lights, decorations and costumes for the annual holiday parade.
The parade was one of the final events of Christmas in Castleton — a full day of festivities throughout downtown including kids’ crafts, a Christmas Market featuring local vendors and the Tree of Remembrance lighting.
Many people had been there for a few hours prior to the parade, enjoying the food and craft vendors and keeping warm by fires. However, according to vendors Paula and Jim Genier, this year’s turnout was a bit less than last.
“It was a little smaller than last year,” Paula said. “We only had a few vendors.”
She claimed that the bitter cold was the most likely reason for the smaller vendor turnout.
“I think last year was a little chillier and I think that put a damper on things, so they didn’t want to come back,” she said.
Paula claimed the first year of Christmas in Castleton was -22 degrees, to which Jim chimed in that this year was a heat wave compared to that year.
But the bitter cold did not stop the vendors who did show. Laura Cadwell said this was her second event selling her homemade crafts and that this turnout was better than her previous event.
“I’ve been making all of these things for five years and I just decided this year to try selling,” she said. “I went to one about two weeks ago in a different location, and this has been a better market all around.”
One vendor, Dots Ski Wax, was selling all-natural wax products.
“This is our first time we’ve been down to this event,” said co-owner Bryan Litchfield. “We started our company in 2020.”
He said they started “out of (their) house, on an idea.”
Janet Daniels, who tended the stand with Litchfield, said the turnout was good.
“This is definitely a little busier than it’s been, with the tree lighting coming on and the parade,” she said. “But this has been a good turnout today. We got a lot of good feedback.”
There was plenty to eat and places to warm up from the cold, too. Third Place Pizzeria and Castleton Pizza Place and Deli were both busy as they catered to crowds of people strolling by, enjoying the festivities.
However, one of the main attractions, the much-anticipated tree lighting in front of the Castleton Free Library, was a bit disappointing, to the surprise of everyone.
The crowd gathered in front of the library, and once the clock struck 5 p.m., they began counting down from ten. The anticipation was palpable, even as Jack Frost bit at everyone’s fingers and toes.
However, when the countdown reached one and the tree was lit, only one portion of a strand at the very bottom of the tree was illuminated.
It was a disappointing yet comical moment, reminiscent of the famous scene of Clark Griswold aggressively smashing plugs together to light his house in “Christmas Vacation.”
But that did not stop what was to come. After a moment of disappointment and even some laughter, everyone geared up for the parade, which featured lit tractors hauling glowing trailers with people throwing candy over the sides.
Children scurried to gather the candy being thrown into the crowds on both sides of the street.
There were even horses with riders waving cheerfully at the delighted crowd, and Santa Claus himself was in the passenger seat of a firetruck.
The parade included characters from famous holiday programs, including “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” and the Peanuts Charlie Brown franchise.
Even though the tree lighting did not go according to plan, Christmas in Castleton was a huge success. It provided a fun, festive, and cheerful time for the town’s residents.
