Thousands attend annual Downtown Lights Up event
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on November 25, 2015 1:46 PM
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Isabelle Grace Shadle, 4, sits backward on the trolley so that she can see during a ride with her grandparents and sister Tuesday night during the annual Downtown Lights Up event.
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
One of two horse-drawn trolleys travels down Center Street Tuesday night. Families stood in a line half way down a block throughout the night to take their turn.
Goldsboro is a far cry from the North Pole, but you might have been fooled into thinking they had switched locations on the map for a night at Tuesday night's Downtown Lights Up event on Center Street.
Thousands of people gathered in the newly renovated downtown area to see Santa, play in the snow and, of course, watch city officials flip the switch that cut on all the holiday lights downtown.
For 3-year-old Jax Carter, it was his first time seeing snow and his family's first time coming downtown to see the event.
As his father, Chris, taught him how to warm his hands by blowing hot air on his fingers, he said he did not like the snow -- that is, until his father reassured him it was something to enjoy and he took off into one of the two snow piles that were on Center Street in front of City Hall Tuesday night.
"My sister posted something about it on Facebook, and it seemed like it would be something nice to bring the kids to," said Chris Carter, Jax's father. "I'm not actually sure what it's about, but it was a chance for us all to get together. We used to have huge family get-togethers when I was a kid, but the family has died off and it's not as big as it was anymore so it's nice to have something to bring them to."
Santa said no one that had sat in his lap Tuesday night would be getting coal for Christmas, and that he was happy to be in downtown Goldsboro.
"It's actually a little cooler in the North Pole than it is down here," Santa said. "Maybe we can get the event a little later in the year to make it more like home. I'm sweating a bit tonight."
Four-year-old Blake Sutton took a trolley ride with his grandmother, Susie Quintal, and said he loved getting to watch the horses.
"He was actually the first kid Santa held this year," Ms. Quintal said. "Santa was walking to where he was going to sit and Blake ran up and grabbed his leg and hugged it, and Santa scooped him up in his arms."
Downtown businesses and restaurants were packed with people Tuesday night, with many places opening up beyond regular hours for the people coming downtown.
Diedre and Jim Shadle Sr. brought their three grandchildren to the event to see Santa and ride the trolley. The grandchildren -- Savanna Shadle, 7, Isabelle Shadle, 4, and Emma Shadle, 3 -- all said they enjoyed the trolley ride the most.
"The trolley ride was my favorite because of the horses," Savanna said.
Mrs. Shadle said she loved bringing her grandchildren down for the event.
"It's been on my mind for a while," she said. "We love to do things with our grandchildren."
The holiday cheer won't stop even though Downtown Lights Up is over -- the lights will be up through Christmas, and the trolley rides will continue through Christmas as well.