Christmas came early in Gainesville as Santa lit the Christmas tree in Tioga Town Center.
Children cheered as the tree lit up with silver lights during the third annual Tioga Holiday Festival and Tree Lighting, which took place Sunday from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.
This is the first year the tree lighting ceremony has been a festival instead of a parade, said Jennifer Reaves, an associate account executive of Frankel Media Group, the company that coordinated the event. Activities also included train rides, pony rides, a bounce house, carnival games and food vendors.
Santa Claus arrived at 6 p.m. to light the Christmas tree.
"The lighting of the Christmas tree is my favorite part," Reaves said. "I feel like it starts off the Christmas season and gets everyone in the Christmas spirit."
She said Tioga Town Center offers these activities as a community service. They are part of the ongoing schedule of family-centered events.
Sheryl Russell, an artist for Creative Room Solutions and a vendor at the festival, said it was the perfect opportunity to reach out to families and potential clients.
"I love socializing and seeing all of the kids’ faces." Russell said. "It’s that time of year when people are excited about Christmas coming and it’s wonderful to see all of the kids happy."
The UF a capella group Tone Def also performed Christmas songs, mashup songs and medleys for the crowd.
"I have been listening to Christmas music since Halloween, so I’m excited to spread the holiday spirit," said Katherine Graham, an 18-year-old music freshman who performed with the group. "I love seeing people’s faces when I sing Christmas music to them."
Kelly Anderson, a 30-year-old clinical lab scientist, and Olivia Hamner, 14 months old, look at their reflections on Christmas decorations after the tree lighting ceremony on Nov. 29, 2015.
Families gather around the front stage to watch the Cameron Dancenter performance of “Cinderella” at the Tioga Town Center on Nov. 29, 2015.
Amanda McGinnes, a 27-year-old insurance sales agent, holds her 7-month-old son Valor as her 7-year-old daughter Allison Chamberlin tries to feed him food from Fork & Pasta. "We came last year during the summer, so this is our first time attending the Christmas festival," she said.
Lilah Dicesare, 5, dances along while watching a southern dancing group perform during the Tioga Holiday Festival and Tree Lighting on Nov. 29, 2015. Her father Tom Dicesare, a 38-year-old computer programmer, said with her amount of energy, she will probably become a dancer when she is older.
