Festival of Lights will brighten holiday season

NEWTON — Newton Memorial Hospital will host its annual Festival of Lights on Saturday, Nov. 21, signaling the unofficial kickoff of the holiday season and raising funds for a good cause — enhancing the birth experience for the community’s expectant parents. Thousands of lights will adorn the rows of evergreen trees that line the hospital’s south entrance and will be illuminated that evening. Each twinkling light represents a loved one and, cumulatively, the lights help to beautify the hospital’s campus during the holiday season. Former Newton Memorial Hospital Foundation Trustee C. Edward McCracken began the tradition 18 years ago, as a way to brighten the holidays for patients and their families during time spent at the hospital. It began as a relatively small event and has grown to a major local fundraiser that helps raise thousands of dollars, which the foundation uses to enhance services at the hospital. Made possible by Smith-McCracken & Wood Funeral Homes and the Hazan Family, the festival offers opportunities to remember a loved one with a donation to light an entire tree or contribute a single string of lights. The traditional lighting ceremony will be preceded by a reception, and followed by a fireworks display sponsored this year by EmCare and the emergency room physicians at the hospital. 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. Other sponsors include: fountain sponsors — Farmside Landscape & Designs, RoNetco Supermarkets, Inc., Ken and Ann Kievit; illuminator sponsors — Grant Facility Management, R. Poust Heating, Cooling, Plumbing & Duct Cleaning; Douglas Fir sponsor — Nisivoccia & Company LLP. Contributors’ names will be recorded in a tribute book and on a recognition board inside the hospital’s main entrance. The event is free and open to the public. To purchase lights, call 973-579-8309.