Christmas In Page

On the eve of Saturday, December 15, Page embraced Christmas whole-heartedly. Hundreds gathered along the sidewalks of Lake Powell Boulevard to take in the celebration that began with Page’s annual Parade of Lights and ended with Page’s new Christmas event, Christmas in the Park.

Parade of Lights

The entrants began lining up just before 5pm. Even with the sky being light you could still get a mental image of how spectacular the floats would be.

The line extended from John C. Page Memorial Park to almost Aspen Street. There were 35 floats this year. While it may have seemed that there were more floats, they were just bigger and more elaborate than year's past.

However, no need to fret, the audience was larger than ever. Estimates are that there were almost 1,000 people in attendance lining Lake Powell Blvd. this year, cheering in the Christmas spirit.

The Page Fire Department led the way with their ladder, showing off their stowaways: Santa and Frosty the snowman. The Page Police Department immediately followed featuring the boat that was donated to them all decked out with strings of lights. There was an antique firetruck, owned and restored by Doug Gardner, whose wind-up siren is nostalgic for many.

Mayor Tappan joined in on the parade float fun. He and his family donned old-time clothes and embraced the Christmas Carol spirit of the season with their “Mayor-y Christmas” float. Councilmember Warner was also part of the parade as he drove his antique truck The Page Animal Adoption Agency got into the spirit with volunteers who were more than eager to walk some of the dogs who are currently adoptable. Even the Whos from Whoville joined in on the merriment.

There were floats that featured nativity scenes, carollers, abominable snowmen, boats, an elevating sleigh, a life-size gingerbread house, and more. Santa closed out the parade with a pair of water skiers riding behind his boat.

Winners of the Parade of Lights:

3rd Place: Page Garage Door

Photo Credit: Page/Lake Powell Chamber of Commerce

2nd Place: Infiniti of Page

1st Place: Sampson’s & Cattleman Family

Christmas in the Park

The classic Christmas song Silver Bells came to life in Page on Saturday night. It was busy, it was bustling, it was crowded, and it was full of laughter, song, and a sense of family.

This year Christmas in the Park made its debut. The event was organized by City of Page with the help of the Page/Lake Powell Chamber of Commerce and was hosted by the wonderful staff of the Page Public Library and the Page Community Center. Many in the community and around the country are hoping this will truly be an annual event.

If you missed it, it was a sight to see. There were many activities going on that enchanted the

senses.

Debbie Winlock, the Director of the Page Public Library and the Page Community Center and her visionary teams painstakingly setup numerous areas that encompassed the spirit of the season. Upon entering the park, one walked along a pathway lined with lights, leading the person to a table lit up with cheerful greeters to guide you through the festivities and encourage you to vote on your favorite Christmas tree (we will get to that in a moment).

John C. Page Memorial Park was lit up in Christmas fashion. Bordering the park, the Page/Lake volunteers from the City of Page wrapped each tree in white lights, and in the center of the park, they erected a large Christmas tree out of lights topped with a shining star.

Following the path toward the hustle and bustle, you passed a long line of decorated trees donated from different businesses, people, and organizations from around the area. The

trees were each decorated in a theme and the community was called upon to vote on their favorite. One was an ocean theme with starfish and seashells as the ornaments, another had dvd movies tucked inside it with movie theater tickets as the tree topper, another was decorated to look like a peppermint candy cane, several were decorated as snowmen, while yet another donned music notes and presents, and yet another was decorated like a unicorn’s home with clouds and all.

No matter who the winner was, each of the trees were being donated to a family in need.

Mixed through the path of trees were several fire pits where one could warm up and, if they so desired, further embrace the season by making s’mores.

The basketball courts were transformed into a winter wonderland where you could ice skate without ice, courtesy of Artificial Ice Events, do some Christmas present shopping, grab a bite to eat, and grab some hot cider or other warm beverage to help fight off Jack Frost.

For those whose feet were tired, or wanted some more light-hearted entertainment, there was a screen set up in the back of the event where the movie Elf was playing. For those who wanted a more ‘traditional’ type of entertainment, opposite the screen was a stage area set up for carollers from the First Baptist Church and from Lakeview Elementary School.

For those looking for even more fun, there was also an ugly Christmas sweater contest. First and second places went to two little girls, and the third place winner was a cute puppy by the name of Lyla, was dressed up to stay nice and snuggly warm. Truth be told, there is no competition when kids and fuzzy animals are involved.

Even Elsa, Anna, and Olaf from Disney’s Frozen made an appearance.

LPNN would like to give a big thank you to all who worked tirelessly to get these events up and running, especially to those who worked throughout not only the day, but the months leading up to the event, to ensure the events went off seamlessly. We mean you City of Page Public Works, Public Library, Community Center, Page Police Department, Page Fire Department, Page/Lake Powell Chamber of Commerce, and everyone else! It was an experience that we at LPNN and our viewers would love to behold every year.

Winners of the Tree Decorating Contest:

3rd place: Alicia Arnoff