If you've been a little slow to get
your holiday season started, there's no time like the present (that's both a
hint and a play on words, btw) to pick up the pace, my friend, because the
festive occasions are coming thick and fast and nearly non-stop between now and
the beginning of the next year.
Let's face it, the autumn days continue to grow shorter
giving way to darker skies with hints of snow in every brisk(er) breeze; the
newspapers get a little plumper as merchants boost their advertising hoping to
catch a shopper's eye while halls and other stationary objects find themselves
bedecked in holly and garland.
As
you probably read in Bob Farwell's Bulletin column, the tenth annual
O'tis a Festival is this Saturday from ten until three (with Santa projected to
arrive at eleven). Naysayers to the contrary, there's plenty of free parking
and again this year helpers to guide you to the primo parking spots.
And
there promises to be music, merriment, and entertainment for the whole family
as well as two floors of handmade arts and crafts from dozens of regional
vendors with ideas and offerings to help jump-start your annual gift-gathering
and giving. If you haven't attended in previous years, you've picked a good
time to come and enjoy.
One
of the bonuses, I think, to the O'tis a Festival is all the added hustle and
bustle it brings to downtown, not to mention the extra feet in the street (and
on the sidewalks) to check out not just the fest but what downtown businesses
have been added and improved since last year and there are a lot, so come
early with the intention to stay late.
And
while the O'Tis a Festival is a terrific time (and reason) to get started on
just-right gifts for loved ones and others on your list there are opportunities
to give and share the spirit of the season especially with those in need right
here in our backyard.
After
you've visited the O'tis a Festival, please stop by Norwich Family Dental
Associates on Lafayette Street because Saturday is the last day of their Third Annual Fill Ted's Truck to benefit the St.
Vincent De Paul Place Thanksgiving dinner. You can find a very long list of
suggested perishable and non-perishable donations on their Facebook page. And
everything helps.
We can help make this a happier holiday
season for both friends and friends we’ve yet to meet. Open your heart and know
whatever you share is both needed and appreciated.
-bill kenny
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