Afton hosts Christmas Parade and Winter Carnival tomorrow
AFTON – One and all are invited to Afton’s annual Christmas Parade & Winter Carnival Saturday for an all-day Christmas celebration, beginning at 7:30 a.m. with breakfast, and concluding at 10 p.m. with a semi-formal dance.
Breakfast will be held at the firehouse from 7:30 to 11 a.m. The firemen do the cooking for the breakfast and the high school senior class sponsors it, with the two groups splitting the proceeds. Santa Claus will be present during the breakfast, listening to children’s wish lists.
“The breakfast always goes really well and senior classes has been sponsoring it for around six years,” said Senior Class Advisor and Afton Central School teacher Catherine Decker. “Last year, I would say about 150 to 200 people came through to eat breakfast.”
Beginning at 9 a.m., a Zoomobile from the Binghamton Zoo will be parked outside the firehouse. There will be six touchable animals with others on display. The Zoomobile staff will answer any questions people may have and the experience is free to the public.
At the same time the Afton Seniors’ Clubhouse will be kicking off its Craft/Cookies by the Pound Sale and Chili Cook-off at the United Methodist Church on Spring Street. The ladies of the senior club will be selling all sorts of handcrafted items and home baked cookies from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
“People come and go all day long, and we sell our wares for as cheap as we can because we don’t want to have to pack up afterwards, I am getting too old for that!” laughed Afton Senior Clubhouse member Matty Mastrogiacomo. “Older grandmothers neatly package their home baked cookies and sometimes people buy them as gifts to pass off as their own,” she said, not seeming to mind in the least the thought of others taking the credit.
The women of the senior clubhouse use the proceeds to support themselves as well as others whom they try to help. “We thought, they have support groups for the needy, so why not start a support group for the elderly who are needy?” said Mastrogiacomo. The group has been meeting every Tuesday since 2008 and do whatever they can to help others, such as giving rides to hospital or cemetery, or raising money for families in need.
In conjunction with the events going on within the church, the senior clubhouse invited Events 4 U to set up shop in United Methodist Church parking lot, and sell fish sandwiches.
Kaitlyn Jackson will be sing holiday and Christmas songs before the parade at 4:30 p.m.
“Kaitlyn has a special connection to Afton because her mother grow up here,” said parade organizer Gloria Harvey.
Starting at 5 p.m. free refreshments will be available at NBT Bank, where Santa will be listening to children’s wish lists again, once the parade has concluded.
“We send out invitations to anyone interested in participating, no matter their religion or who they are,” said Barbara Niles, who along with her husband has been on the parade committee for about a decade. “We also extend an invitation to all the nearby fire stations to take part.”
Three trophies will be awarded to the best business float, the best church float, and the best decorated fire truck.
Tom Vail, former Afton NBT Bank branch president, has been selected as this year’s Grand Marshal. Mayor Sally Muller will also be riding in the parade with the local P.D.
Last year around 300 people turned out to witness the annual winter festival, reported Niles. “It’s been growing over the years and now we average between 15 and 20 floats each year, including the bands and the fire trucks,” she added.
Christmas trees purchased from Baxter’s tree farm will provide an illuminating framework for the parade as they line the sides of Main Street. “Usually they donate the trees, but this year the committee had some extra money, so we bought them to put some money back into the local economy,” said Niles.
The Afton Food Pantry will also be collecting non-perishable food items as part of their effort to stave local hunger, beginning at 4:30 p.m.
The Afton senior high school class will cap off the night with their Semi-Formal Snow Ball open to the public, in the high school cafeteria, from 7:30 to 10 p.m.
“A lot of parents come with their children and we try and make it affordable like the breakfast so anyone can come,” said Decker.
Breakfast will be held at the firehouse from 7:30 to 11 a.m. The firemen do the cooking for the breakfast and the high school senior class sponsors it, with the two groups splitting the proceeds. Santa Claus will be present during the breakfast, listening to children’s wish lists.
“The breakfast always goes really well and senior classes has been sponsoring it for around six years,” said Senior Class Advisor and Afton Central School teacher Catherine Decker. “Last year, I would say about 150 to 200 people came through to eat breakfast.”
Beginning at 9 a.m., a Zoomobile from the Binghamton Zoo will be parked outside the firehouse. There will be six touchable animals with others on display. The Zoomobile staff will answer any questions people may have and the experience is free to the public.
At the same time the Afton Seniors’ Clubhouse will be kicking off its Craft/Cookies by the Pound Sale and Chili Cook-off at the United Methodist Church on Spring Street. The ladies of the senior club will be selling all sorts of handcrafted items and home baked cookies from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
“People come and go all day long, and we sell our wares for as cheap as we can because we don’t want to have to pack up afterwards, I am getting too old for that!” laughed Afton Senior Clubhouse member Matty Mastrogiacomo. “Older grandmothers neatly package their home baked cookies and sometimes people buy them as gifts to pass off as their own,” she said, not seeming to mind in the least the thought of others taking the credit.
The women of the senior clubhouse use the proceeds to support themselves as well as others whom they try to help. “We thought, they have support groups for the needy, so why not start a support group for the elderly who are needy?” said Mastrogiacomo. The group has been meeting every Tuesday since 2008 and do whatever they can to help others, such as giving rides to hospital or cemetery, or raising money for families in need.
In conjunction with the events going on within the church, the senior clubhouse invited Events 4 U to set up shop in United Methodist Church parking lot, and sell fish sandwiches.
Kaitlyn Jackson will be sing holiday and Christmas songs before the parade at 4:30 p.m.
“Kaitlyn has a special connection to Afton because her mother grow up here,” said parade organizer Gloria Harvey.
Starting at 5 p.m. free refreshments will be available at NBT Bank, where Santa will be listening to children’s wish lists again, once the parade has concluded.
“We send out invitations to anyone interested in participating, no matter their religion or who they are,” said Barbara Niles, who along with her husband has been on the parade committee for about a decade. “We also extend an invitation to all the nearby fire stations to take part.”
Three trophies will be awarded to the best business float, the best church float, and the best decorated fire truck.
Tom Vail, former Afton NBT Bank branch president, has been selected as this year’s Grand Marshal. Mayor Sally Muller will also be riding in the parade with the local P.D.
Last year around 300 people turned out to witness the annual winter festival, reported Niles. “It’s been growing over the years and now we average between 15 and 20 floats each year, including the bands and the fire trucks,” she added.
Christmas trees purchased from Baxter’s tree farm will provide an illuminating framework for the parade as they line the sides of Main Street. “Usually they donate the trees, but this year the committee had some extra money, so we bought them to put some money back into the local economy,” said Niles.
The Afton Food Pantry will also be collecting non-perishable food items as part of their effort to stave local hunger, beginning at 4:30 p.m.
The Afton senior high school class will cap off the night with their Semi-Formal Snow Ball open to the public, in the high school cafeteria, from 7:30 to 10 p.m.
“A lot of parents come with their children and we try and make it affordable like the breakfast so anyone can come,” said Decker.
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