Berlin tree lighting brightens up holiday season
BERLIN, Md. – “It has become something of a tradition.” Local business owner William Outten tells 47 ABC how this night is truly one of a kind.
The annual tree lighting in Berlin has folks of all ages getting ‘amped’ up for the most wonderful time of the year, from twinkling lights, hot cocoa, sleigh bells, and everything else in between adorning the streets of “America’s Coolest Small Town.”
One visitor, Cody Clark tells 47 ABC he’s been bringing his family back to kick off the holiday season and is proud to see so many others doing the same.
He said, “This is wonderful. It’s like this all the time for the holidays. They always have something for the family. It’s just a good place to be.”
It’s a good place to be, and an even better place to create new family memories, and for some, its about tagging along with mom and spending quality time.
John Fitzgerald, another visitor said, “My mom dragged us to this a few years ago so we’ve been coming back ever since to make her feel good and we just fell in love with it.”
An easy town to fall in love with and escape the hustle and bustle of Black Friday, Outten tells us it reminds folks of the real reason for the season: spending time with family and faithful friends who are dear to us.
He said, “It brings in a good bit of tourists and locals all together and it has become something fun and exciting. It actually does something good for the town of Berlin.”
Susan Tramaglini, another visitor, brings her family back year after year. She said, “The kids love it. They love to see the ice sculptures and they love to get their first glimpse of Santa Claus and get excited when the tree lights up.”
From the intricate ice sculptures, frosty evergreen sprigs, and bright lights, its safe to say there’s holiday charm as far as the eye can see.
Fitzgerald said, “It’s just a great town!”
Along with Friday’s tree lighting, Berlin hosted an “Open House” for all small businesses. Outten, who owns an antique store, tells 47 ABC it brings his store big business each year.
Town Center Antiques has been staying open late every Black Friday for the last 20 years and Outten says the added tree lighting drives people to his store, meaning extra cash.
He says the added tourism brings in almost a much money as a rainy summer day, and he’s just happy to shoppers helping out his business and supporting the town rather than spend the holiday browsing online or heading to the malls for those deals.
Outten said, “A lot of people are buying things online, and it turns out they’re not hitting the malls as much, or as often. [the open house] rivals a good summer day when its raining.”
If you missed Friday’s tree lighting and holiday open house and still want to experience some holiday magic in “America’s Coolest Small Town,” don’t worry, the Christmas parade is coming up on Thursday, December 6th and shops will be open.
