Sebastian-area businesses decked their halls, brought out holiday goodies and stayed open late to kick off the Christmas season at the 27th annual Sebastian River Area Chamber of Commerce Light Up Night.
The city’s Christmas lights glowed all through the main thoroughfares as hundreds of people strolled the streets, visiting shops, browsing through holiday-ready merchandise and chatting with friends and shopkeepers.
While the pounding precipitation of the previous week had diminished, the wind was blustery off the lagoon and a sporadic misty rain had people popping umbrellas open periodically, but it didn’t diminish the festive spirit one little bit.
An always popular feature of Light Up Night is the wide and plentiful array of snacks set out by merchants, from chocolate-slathered Rice Crispy treats at the AAA tent to nachos and cheese and popcorn at the Direct TV store. There were traditional homemade Christmas cookies, cocoa and hot cider at Roseland United Methodist, margaritas and mini beef empanadas at Las Palmas Cuban Restaurant, and so much more all along the way. Most everyone was munching on something or other while walking from lighted shop to lighted shop.
Warm light spilled through a cluster of welcoming doorways along U.S. 1 toward Main Street, in and around the extremely strollable Village Shops, and the quirky and fun Beyond Useless Boutique. Magical elf that he is, Santa managed to chat and offer photo ops and good cheer in several locations. Music was in the air from end to end, including at one of the perennially favorite stops, Kim Ellis Insurance. Farther north, Sebastian River Medical Center directors served a bountiful array of refreshments out front, and Roseland’s festively lit LaPorte Farms offered tours and goodies.
In all, there were 37 participants – salons, churches, insurance offices, restaurants, florists, gift shops, opticians, banks and more, all joining to create what has become a North County holiday tradition.
