Festival of Lights kicks off season

NEWTON - Hundreds of supporters and friends of the Newton Memorial Hospital attended the 18th annual C. Edward McCracken Festival of Lights ceremony on Saturday to kick off the holiday season. Following a gala reception in the Main Lobby, Newton Memorial turned on thousands of holiday lights adorning the evergreen trees that line the Hospital’s south entrance. Started by a Newton Memorial Hospital’s trustee, the late C. Edward McCracken, Festival of Lights is one of the hospital’s biggest fundraisers. Following the tree lighting ceremony, attendees enjoyed a fireworks display sponsored by EmCare and the Emergency Room physicians at Newton Memorial Hospital. “Eighteen years ago, my father envisioned that this event would brighten the holiday campus for those who found themselves in the hospital during the holiday season,” said Jo-Ellen McCracken Hazan, daughter of McCracken and a member of the Festival of Lights committee. “But I don’t think even he could have imagined what a successful and festive event this has become. I’m so proud and I know he would be as well.” Sponsored by Smith-McCracken and Wood Funeral Homes, Festival of Lights gives people the option of making a donation to the Newton Memorial Hospital Foundation in exchange for either a string of lights or the option of lighting an entire evergreen tree in remembrance or in honor of loved ones. Contributor’s names are recorded in a Festival of Light’s Tribute book on a recognition board inside the hospital’s main entrance. All proceeds will go to benefit the hospital’s maternity department, which has undergone extensive renovations over the last 12 months, including new floors, televisions, bedding, sleeping arrangements for fathers and a softer, warmer color palette throughout the unit.