The Londonderry Rotary Club has announced it will not be hosting the annual Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony on the Town Common this year, but will host a Wreath Stroll fundraising event this weekend.
“Last year, we had a tough time keeping the trees lit and getting everything off the Common,” Rotary Club spokesman George Brooks said of the event, which has been held in early December for the past 20 years, featuring the lighting of nearly two dozen decorated trees and a visit from Santa.
Last year was the first year the Rotary Club hosted its Wreath Stroll at the Coach Stop restaurant, which was held in conjunction with the tree lighting ceremony.
This year’s Stroll at the Coach Stop is to be held Dec. 6 from 4 to 7 p.m. The public is invited to browse the wreaths, donated by Londonderry residents and businesses.
“We will have 15 wreaths decorated in the holiday spirit, and there will be a silent auction for each,” Brooks said. “All are invited to come and take a walk through, enjoy a glass of wine and bid on a wreath.”
In addition to the wreaths, local businesses will be offering gift certificates and other products at the event; and members of the Rotary Club will present the money raised in its recent Comedy Club fundraiser to Family Promise and Liberty House.
Funds raised through the Wreath Stroll will be donated to other local charities the Rotary Club supports.
The Rotary Club works year-round to raise money to support ALERT – A Londonderry Emergency Response Team, local food pantries, soup kitchens, homeless shelters, fuel assistance, scholarships for Londonderry High School students and the worldwide eradication of polio.