Commissioner Hudak & Drosky were two who lit up the tree at Night of Lights event Dec. 5.

By Rachel Galvin

Yes, it has been pretty cold lately, but do you know that it snowed on Saturday in Deerfield Beach? OK, it wasn’t real snow, but snow nonetheless. The occasion for the wintery weather was Night of Lights, an event that used to be called Ocean Way Holiday and was held on the beach. This year, it was moved to the Sullivan Park parking lot and had a lot of safety measures in place due to COVID-19. The event was for residents only. They had to register online and prove they were residents. Then, they had a temperature check upon arrival.

Seating was within socially-distanced areas differentiated using chalked squares on the ground. The show was filled with costumed characters like Mickey & Minnie Mouse, Goofy (I think it was Goofy), the chipmunks, Elmo, Big Bird and Hello Kitty. It was put on by ZMC Event Productions. The half-hour song and dance number, which culminated with the best performance of the night by Santa and some ballerinas, was re-run four times throughout the night, so that each show only had a limited audience. People were quickly exited after each show to let the next batch come in. 

Besides the family-friendly show, there was Santa in a snow globe to take pictures with, stilt walkers and inflatable characters –including some from Star Wars. Kris Mory, who oversees the CRA, was handing out doughnuts and hot cocoa. Holiday coloring books and candy canes were also given out to children by several staff members. Parks & Recreation Manager II Mary Davis was giving out holiday masks too. And, of course, there was the snow falling. Commissioner Hudak, Drosky and Mayor Ganz were in attendance to light the Christmas tree.

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