Wednesday, November 26, 2003
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Wednesday, November 26, 2003 |
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Fayetteville to host holiday extravaganza this Saturday By MICHAEL
BOYLAN After you have gathered together with your families and put away enormous amounts of food on Thursday and perhaps kicked off your Christmas shopping on Friday, you can head to the center of downtown Fayetteville on Saturday and take part in the annual Christmas tree lighting. The event will begin at 6 p.m. in Heritage Park at Stonewall Village and will feature music, crafts, refreshments and more. Timeless Highway will take the stage by the fountain at 6 p.m. and will perform all of your favorite Christmas songs during the “Timeless Country Christmas Show.” Members of the Heritage Christian Church will set up a small version of their Dickens Village by the gazebo. There will be costumed characters, minstrels, storytellers and jugglers among others. In addition to all of the entertainment, there will be a craft making station, an old-fashioned Santa to visit, and hot chocolate and chestnuts to consume. This year’s event is also special because the tree lighting ceremony is themed “Holiday of Hope” and is being dedicated to those touched by cancer. The park will be decorated with luminaries honoring survivors and given in memory of those who lost the battle to cancer. Tyler Rion, a three year old cancer survivor, will begin the festivities by lighting the tree. Rion was diagnosed with Pre-B ALL (Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia) on June 10 of this year. He responded very well to induction therapy and has been in remission since the conclusion of his first month of treatments. His type of leukemia must be treated with a protocol of two and a half years of chemotherapy, so his journey has just begun. Tyler lives in Fayetteville with parents, Seth and Barb, and new baby brother, Matthew. Luminaries may be reserved in the memory or honor of someone touched by cancer for a donation of $10 made payable to the American Cancer Society. ÊLuminaries may be ordered in advance at the Fayetteville City Hall (contact Nancy Price, 770-461-6029) or at the American Cancer Society located at 135 Bradford Square, Suite B in Fayetteville (contact Sheri Waynick, 770-460-8920). They may also be purchased on site. Downtown Fayetteville should look beautiful this Saturday night as the community comes together to light the Christmas tree and look ahead to an enchanting holiday season. Members of Heritage Christian Church’s Dickens Village, from left, Steve Geyer, Shellye Febrey and Joe Febrey met Tyler Rion recently before the Fayetteville christmas tree. Photo/Michael Boylan. Fayetteville’s Holiday
of Hope 6 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 29 |
