A Holiday Tradition By Justin Reich

As the holiday season approaches us, we have looked at how we can make family tradition stronger. Well guess what? We are all in luck and we don’t have to look far to find. It is all in thanks to the Greater Hartford Arts Council and a festival that can bring the joy of being around love ones to a city.
For 46 years Hartford has brought to the region a wonderful experience of holiday merriment with the Festival of lights and Santa Saturdays. Up until 1999 the festival was held at Bushnell Park located just on the outskirts of downtown Hartford. Now it has become a truly special occasion in Hartford’s Constitution Plaza and the surrounding buildings adjacent to the area. The event put on by the Greater Hartford Arts Council, is headed up by Central Connecticut State Graduate Erin Pollard, who is the development manager for the council. Ms. Pollard has brought holiday joyfulness back to families in only her second year running the 46 year event. The event which she says will bring close to 10,000 people to downtown with an estimated 5,000 on the opening day which is the first Santa Saturday. The event goes from Black Friday (day after Thanksgiving) to Three Kings day ending the twelve days of Christmas.

The main focus for the past 10 years had been solely on the lights on Constitution Plaza. But now with the collaboration of the Phoenix Company building, Northeast Utility building, and the new Connecticut Science Center, New England’s rising star will shine as bright as the North Star this holiday season. All of these building every night during the festival will turn on their holiday lights at the same time for all to have the benefit of enjoying a timely tradition. The vision that Ms. Pollard has is to one day have all buildings in the vicinity come together and light the area and have local businesses paint portraits on the front of their entrances and have a city come together for the holidays.