Vernon’s Winterfest celebration is this Friday, Dec. 5, beginning at 5:45 in Central Park in front of Vernon Town Hall.
The free, family-friendly event kicks off the holiday season and includes a parade of decorated fire trucks from Vernon and nearby communities, a tree lighting and the lighting of the snowflake on Fox Hill Tower, caroling led by the Rockville High School choir, the opening of Santa’s House and the arrival of Santa and Mrs. Claus. The holiday light display at Henry Park will also formally open.
All are welcome.
The Vernon volunteer fire department auxiliary will serve cookies and cider. There will also be candy canes.
“Winterfest is a great event for people to come together to celebrate the holiday season,” Mayor Dan Champagne said. “The fire truck parade, the lighting of the tree and the arrival of Santa make it a really magical experience for kids.”
Once Santa arrives, children can visit with him inside Santa’s House.
The holiday light display at Henry Park is illuminated each night from 4 to 11 p.m. through the holiday season.
During Winterfest, there will be some detours in place to allow for the parade and to close East and West Main streets for a short period of time.
The center of Rockville will be closed to traffic to keep all participants safe.
Traffic will be diverted from Union Street to West Main Street to Vernon Avenue to Brooklyn Street to Court Street and back to East Main Street.
During the parade, traffic will be diverted from Grove Street to Laurel Street to Cedar Street to Brooklyn Street.