The local shopping district has a fun tradition for Black Friday weekend, one I knew very little about before this year. It seems that a couple years ago, they started a little kick off celebration with food, music, and fireworks before the holiday shopping season commences. It is colder than normal here, and the celebration is held outdoors, at night, so I probably would have skipped it, but Diva was performing, and Walker and I both had the night off work. Off we went.
The park was decorated with hundreds of colored Christmas lights, strung through the trees. Diva's choir performed several songs, a lively Santa danced around the park shelter, local businesses passed out cookies, candy canes, hot dogs, and cocoa. Outside, there were bonfires and s'mores. The mayor gave a speech. The high school marching band trooped through, playing their hearts out. Then the fireworks exploded overhead. It was awesome.
Sometimes it seems more trouble than it's worth to don layer after layer of clothing, drive to the other end of town, and stomp around in the cold for a two hour party. But you know, when we take the time to actually do it, we are always glad we did.
