Santa in Smith

So, December 1 marked the lighting of the town XMAS tree... about 100 people showed up to watch Santa flip the hydro. We were a little surprised that about 1/4 of the bulbs were burnt out, and that they were old school incandescents... maybe a little "buy a string of LEDs for the Christmas tree" community project is in order?

It was pretty amazing to see a line of kids waiting to see Santa, considering it was probably close to -20C (with the wind) and poor Santa just sitting there! And of course, the night was complete with brisk walk home in the faint glow of the aurora (we didn't stick around outside to watch it get brighter).

The next big excitement is the perpetual Santa Claus parade... apparently it goes down a different street every night throughout December... and because its so cold, people just stay inside and watch from their window! Again poor Santa! But apparently he makes many appearances -- like getting off the plane, skate with Santa and even a swim with Santa??! I will keep you posted!

(Sorry about the pics -- my little camera doesn't do so well at night)