A 30-foot-tall Douglas fir trimmed in red ribbons and white lights towered over a crowed of about 75 people at the Lackawanna County tree lighting event at Courthouse Square on Thursday night.
Tree gazers stopped at a tent brimming with hot chocolate and countless cookies, and hummed along to the sounds of the Robert Dale Chorale, who caroled before and during the ceremony.
Missy O'Brien welcomed onlookers on behalf of her husband, Commissioner Corey O'Brien, along with the other commissioners and their families, praising the effort that went into making such an event possible.
"Each year it just keeps getting bigger and bigger," said Mrs. O'Brien.
Families with small children waited in the cool night air to take a horse and carriage ride, with horses provided by the county sheriff's department, riding down Spruce Street, over Wyoming Avenue and back up Linden Street in front of the courthouse. The county accepted donations from riders to benefit the Adopt-an-Angel project, county spokeswoman Fran Pantuso said.
Heidi and Pat McDonough drove from Dunmore with their two sons, Colin, 2, and Elliott, 4 months, to see the lights on the tree and take a carriage ride.
"It's a nice way to celebrate with others in the community you might not usually see," Mrs. McDonough said.
Contact the writer: ksullivan@timesshamrock.com, @ksullivanTT on Twitter