Rotary Tree Lighting Highlights Community Ties

VILLAS – The Lower Township Rotary Club will shine a light on the holiday season beginning Dec. 1 at 7 p.m. when the township’s Christmas tree will be illuminated.
The event has been a community tradition for over 10 years and is a way for the residents to appreciate the fellowship of community and the veterans that gave so much for their country. This year, a new addition is a toy and food drive that will benefit local Lower Township families. Anyone attending the tree lighting can bring a new unwrapped toy or a food donation to the ceremony.
The program begins inside the recreation center with a presentation by the members of the rotary and local officials. Then, the club invites local military veterans to come forward and be recognized and thanked for their service.
The Lower Cape May Regional High School choir performs and then the Righteous Ringers, a children’s hand bell choir from the Seashore Church of the Nazarene, will play a song for the crowd.
After the short ceremony and performances at the recreation center, the local VFW color guard will lead a procession through the luminary lit path to the tree in front of Lower Township Hall. After the crowd reassembles and the choir sings the last note of their song, the lights on the tree will be turned on.
After the lights come on, the public is invited to the township meeting room in Lower Township Hall for a reception of refreshments and snacks.
If You Go: The Lower Township Rotary Club’s annual Christmas tree lighting is Dec. 1 at 7 p.m. beginning inside the Lower Township Recreation Center, located at 2600 Bayshore Road behind the municipal building. Please bring a new unwrapped toy or nonperishable food to the tree lighting for the Rotary Club’s donation drive.