The city of South Portland kicked off the holiday season Friday night with a damp celebration centering around the newly renovated gazebo at Mill Creek Pond. Despite the rain, a large crowd lined up for a ride on the two horse-drawn carriages that circled Knightville, and even more people gathered around the gazebo for caroling and the lighting of the park’s trees. Here, Tom Blake, newly re-installed as South Portland’s mayor, conducts the student chorus before the tree lighting.
Festooned with antlers, Jasmine McKenzie was one of the many South Portland middle-school chorus members who crowded into the gazebo to sign Christmas carols.
Isabella Phipps, a sixth-grader at Memorial, takes a break from caroling to check out the crowd around the Mill Creek gazebo.
Perhaps reacting to the large demand last year, two horse-drawn carriages were employed at Friday’s Holiday Fest to carry the large crowds around Knightville in South Portland. In addition, there was a tree-lighting, caroling by chorus students from South Portland High School and the city middle schools, and a visit by Santa at City Hall.
The second horse-drawn carriage
Tom Blake, newly re-installed as South Portland’s mayor, holds the microphone as five middle-school students lead the crowd in the countdown to the lighting of the trees in Mill Creek Park.
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