SEBASTIAN — From one end of town to the other, Sebastian was at its holiday best Friday, as dozens of businesses launched the Christmas season with the 26th Annual Chamber of Commerce Light Up Night.
Sparkling lights of every color glittered and twinkled from trees, bushes, doorways, lampposts, and shone from windows and on Christmas trees all along the US 1 corridor though the center of town, along side streets and even into Roseland, where LaPorte Farms welcomed visitors to its holiday wonderland.
Hundreds of folks – moms and dads towing or carrying laughing, wide-eyed children, young couples, retirees, teens strolled the sidewalks of downtown to enjoy the popular holiday tradition.
Music filled the air and trays, plates and bowls of tempting treats awaited the visitors at every stop.
To the north, the Monnett Eye Center/Center for Facial Aesthetics team had transformed its offices into the land of “Frozen,” with staff in icy blue tulle, silver and snowy snowman white, all the costumes stitched by Magaly Ayora. Rebecca Chapple shone as Elsa and Jamie Tertechny was a terrific Olaf, complete with carrot nose.
Across the highway, red-clad staff at the festively decorated Sebastian River Medical Center served a bountiful buffet to hundreds of visitors, beneath the entrance portico.
Just off US 1 on Central Avenue, visitors enjoyed refreshments and chatted in the cozy warmth of Del’s Barber Shop and Wigs By Connie. Farther up, the newly opened Carlile House Feminine Arts Haberdashery offered holiday cheer and wowed its visitors with an interior reminiscent of an artsy Greenwich Village boutique.
The most enticing aromas filled the air at the Treasure Coast Coffee Company, where owner and natural-born baker Michelle Lombardi greeted guests with plates of Christmas cookies, Christmas tree-shaped brownies and fragrant beverages.
Always a highlight of the night was the Kim Ellis Insurance Services office, where, out front, a DJ spun non-stop, upbeat Christmas music as people gathered under the oaks and palms, refreshments in hand, enjoying the colored lights twinkling from pretty much every surface.
A special treat for the kids was Elsa herself, from “Frozen,” (aka Dominique Finochi) greeting the eager children from her glowing blue and white bower.
Ken Chapman snuggled his broadly smiling 9-month-old daughter, Sadie Kennedy, in his arms, while his boys, Maddox, 7, and Ashton, 3, pulled their mom, Heather Kennedy, toward the bright front door, where a holiday wonderland awaited.
An amazing upside-down Christmas tree hung from the ceiling in the foyer, decked with red and white flower garlands. Each room was decorated in great detail in its own color and holiday theme. There was a blue underwater tableau and, farther along, other upside-down trees, bright red bows, stately golden balls, flamingos and – a Real Live Grinch who had left his grinchiness behind and was happily posing for pictures with kids – and some grown-ups.
As people stepped back out the front door, they were surrounded by clouds of bubbles.
Each participating business shared the holiday spirit in its own way, with lots of warmth and lots of cookies. It was very pleasant and very – Sebastian.
