Athlone welcomes festive season with Christmas lights switch-on
The streets of Athlone were filled with festive spirit on Sunday last as the town's annual Christmas Lights were officially switched on, marking the beginning of the holiday season.
The event drew crowds of local families, friends, and visitors, and it began with excellent performances by local artists, including Christmas carols, live music, and dance routines that kept the crowd entertained.
Santa Claus made a surprise appearance, delighting hundreds of children, and handing out sweets to them.
The Athlone Festival & Events Voluntary Group, which is chaired by John Henson is responsible for providing the Christmas lights. John thanked everyone involved in the group for giving of their time to bring this festive joy to Athlone.
"We have a great team of volunteers who have worked tirelessly over the last number of months. It is all about collaboration and working together to deliver. I would also like to thank Dove Labour Hire and Bright Ideas for all their work," he added.
In addition, John stated that Dolores Crear and her team from the Athlone Family Resource Centre had joined with the group for the switching on celebrations.
There were also many volunteers from other organisations present on the evening to make sure everything went well
"We were also delighted to have PJ Glynn and the Athlone Agricultural Show group providing an illuminated tractor run through the town. All in all, it was a great event and a big thanks to everyone," he said.
PJ Glynn thanked the Athlone Festival & Events committee for including the Agricultural Show committee in the festivities. He thanked his members for decorating their tractors and for bringing a colourful tractor run through the town.
"It was great to see so many families with their kids lining the streets welcoming the agriculture sector back into Athlone town," he added.
Mayor Frankie Keena, who is secretary of the Athlone Festival & Events Group also expressed gratitude to everyone who helped out.
"Christmas is a special joyous time of the year which brings us together as a community. It was lovely to see the smiles on the children’s faces when the lights were switched on," said Cllr Keena.
"I would like to thank Westmeath County Council for providing the funding for both the erection of the Christmas lights and for the switching on ceremony. Also, special words of thanks to Pete Casey, Midlands 103, Aidan Higgins, and An Post, for their support with the switch on," he said.
"Also, it was fantastic to have had Kieran Cleary with us to switch on the lights."
In conclusion, Mayor Keena stated that shops and businesses had kindly added to the Town’s festive atmosphere by decorating their storefronts. He urged the public to shop local and support our local businesses during the forthcoming busy festive season.