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Rehoboth’s tree lighting starts Cape Region’s holiday season

Thousands turn out on cold, windy night to participate in caroling by the Bandstand
Rehoboth’s tree lighting Nov. 29 brought thousands of people to the Bandstand. CHRIS FLOOD PHOTOS
Chris Flood
November 30, 2024

Story Location:
Rehoboth Beach Bandstand
Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971
United States

Thousands of people braved near-freezing temperatures and windy conditions Nov. 29, to participate in Rehoboth Beach’s annual holiday sing-along at the Bandstand.

The Cape Henlopen Holiday Band started the show, while Clear Space Theatre Company led the way on the sing-along. As if on cue, as soon as the tree’s lights were turned on, a brief flurry of snow began to fall, which drew a second round of applause.

The Rehoboth tree lighting was the first of many holiday events taking place in the Cape Region over the course of the next week or so. There are tree lightings Saturday, Nov. 30, in Dewey Beach and Milton. There are parades – Monday, Dec. 2, in Rehoboth; Wednesday, Dec. 4 in Milton; Saturday, Dec. 7, in Lewes. There’s Caroling on The Circle in Georgetown on Thursday, Dec. 5. There’s also a Santa Crawl, a Holly Festival, holiday house tours and more. 

For a full listing of local holiday events, go to capegazette.com and click on the ‘Tis the Season button. 

After the tree was lit, groups of friends and families got their photos taken in front of it. Shown are (l-r) Tara Gambale, Juliette Gambale, Emma Gambale and Matt Gambale.
Eliza Tippett smiles as she tells Santa (Sam Cooper) what she wants for Christmas.
With the star on top, the tree is pushing 40 feet tall.
Someone dressed in a Grinch costume was having fun scaring kids on the Boardwalk.
This Santa wasn’t part of the show; he was just in attendance making people smile.
The tree towers above when standing next to it.
This young lady has that “I’m next” look on her face.
Nancy Curry, left, gets a smile from Kelsey Murphy, middle, and Grace Riddle as she sings her favorite Christmas song, “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas.”
The Clear Space Theatre cast from “White Christmas” gets the crowd in the mood at the tree lighting.
From this vantage point, it’s clear the tree is nearly as tall as the Bandstand.
Powering through the cold to play their flutes and clarinets are the Cape Holiday Band’s (l-r) Jaida Lagonigro, Brianna Holston, Linden Henderson, Regan Shellenberger, Maddex Holstein, Zoe Olmsted and Martina Astudillo.
Even in the cold, the Cape Henlopen Holiday Band’s Hannalyn Wiegmann, left, and Reilly Choma look cool while playing the sax.
If this were July, these white specks could be bugs, but it’s a cold night in November, so it’s the slightest amount of snow.

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