Honey, they've shrunk the holiday displays

Most community festivities return - minus the trimmings

The Grinch that is our present economy won't be stealing Christmas this year. But he is nibbling around the edges. And he did manage to cancel at least three popular holiday events on the South Shore.

When Quincy's 56th annual Christmas Parade steps off this afternoon in downtown Quincy, "no one should notice any difference," said George White, chairman of the city's Christmas Festival Committee.

That's the good news for the 200,000 people expected to line the three-mile parade route.

A month from now, however, people will notice a big difference.

Quincy canceled its long-running First Night celebration - which featured family-oriented events and fireworks - after city businesses were asked to donate instead to a fund for emergency home-heating aid.

Around the region, holiday celebrations are feeling the squeeze, and communities have either had to cut back their festivities or scramble harder to keep up tradition. Among the more striking changes:

Plymouth's annual Thanksgiving Parade Nov. 22 had fewer out-of-state marching bands because of shortfalls in fund-raising. If not for a huge increase in the grant from the Entergy power plant in town, parade chairman Olly deMacedo admitted, the event would have been in real trouble.

The Heritage Plantation in Sandwich had to pull the plug on its annual Spectacle of Lights, which attracts visitors from throughout the South Shore, after state officials yanked a $74,000 grant that had helped pay for the display.

In Carver, the Edaville Railroad's annual Christmas Festival of Lights is intact, but to save money and energy, owners have begun changing over the 7 million lights to LEDs, light-emitting diodes, a process that will take several years to complete.

Fall River this month decided to cancel its First Night celebrations because of a big cut in state Community Development Agency grants. Some neighborhood groups are trying to pull together a smaller celebration.

Some area celebrations have been insulated from state and municipal budget cuts because they are run by private groups and rely mostly on volunteers. But with resources tighter this year, they're working harder than ever, said deMacedo, who noted that Plymouth's parade relies on several hundred volunteers, about 15 of whom work year-round.

Walpole was able to keep its low-key, family-friendly Santa Parade, according to Katie Turco of Turco Insurance and the Walpole Chamber of Commerce, which runs the event.

"We're lucky the spirit of volunteerism is alive and well in Walpole," said Turco.

The lights on the fir tree in the center of town are strung by a volunteer, Doug King, and the Santa Parade is an "old-fashioned, old-time Christmas parade. "

In Milton, funeral director Al Thomas contributed the money for the holiday lights display in East Milton Square, and other businesses contributed to the tree-lighting ceremony to be held tonight, according to Town Administrator Kevin Mearn.

In Quincy, White, who has been involved with the city's Christmas Parade for 44 years, said some private contributions were down, but he and his committee worked to keep the elements that parade-goers have enjoyed over the years. There will be between 95 and 100 units in the parade, with 18 bands and 14 floats, and favorites such as the Hallamore Clydesdales will still be part of the event.

"There will be two or three small cutbacks," he said.

All previous sponsors have stayed on, he said, but some had to scale back their contributions. "We worked out deals with people to maintain the parade as much as we could."

Christopher Walker of Quincy Mayor Stephen Koch's office said the city contributes about $20,000 annually to help pay for the Christmas festival events, but the majority comes from private fund-raising.

The city's annual First Night celebration, however, which once boasted a budget of $100,000, 200 entertainers, a pair of fireworks displays, and a laser light show, has fallen by the wayside, at least for this year.

"We will likely supplant it with a more general Presidents Day event catered to the kids on vacation," said Walker. "In this economy, we have to stick to the basics."

In addition to the city's contribution, First Night was largely funded by donations from businesses, and this year the city asked businesses to donate to a home-heating fund through the Mayor's Cup Golf Tournament, which raised about $80,000 for the fund.

In Plymouth, deMacedo, executive director of the America's Hometown Thanksgiving Celebration, said many people stepped up to the plate when the economy threatened the weekend of events, which included concerts and waterfront events.

The Entergy Pilgrim Station in Plymouth, for example, boosted its donation to $35,000 from the usual $10,000 or $15,000. deMacedo also credited the volunteers and such sponsors as the Plymouth Industrial Development Corp. and the Plymouth Rock Foundation. The committee has to raise about $250,000 each year in cash and in-kind donations.

"We have longtime supporters who couldn't afford to give this year," he said. "The mom-and-pop businesses are really struggling."

The decision to cut back some things was made early, said deMacedo, who called drum corps from Washington, D.C., and Chicago to request they not come.

"We were frugal and judicious," he said. "We had to make decisions on what made sense. The community pulled together to get it done despite the economy."

In Sandwich, however, the Heritage Museum & Garden couldn't put on the Spectacle of Lights after it lost its grant from the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism.

"The decision to cancel is the necessary step financially, but it is one of the most painful decisions I have had to make in my 34 years as a museum director," said executive director Scott T. Swank, especially because "families need a bit more cheer this year, given the state of the economy."

Swank said that even with state funding, the event was a risky endeavor, given the unpredictable weather, the cost of staff, and increasing utility bills. But he hoped to bring back the event in the future.

In Carver, Susan Wentworth, general manager, said the Edaville festival, which usually attracts about 150,000 people, is offering many coupons and discounts in an effort to stay affordable for families.

The festival has also begun switching the 7 million lights in the display to light-emitting diodes. According to the website eartheasy.com, LED bulbs last up to 10 times as long as compact fluorescents and even longer than typical incandescents. LED bulbs also use 2 to 10 watts of electricity, or one-thirtieth and one-third the amount of incandescents and compact fluorescents, respectively.

Despite the cost constraints, White said his committee in Quincy went to great lengths to bring some holiday cheer to people this weekend.

"The parade means so much to most people," he said, adding that when Red Sox star Curt Schilling and his family served as grand marshals last year, they were amazed at the number of people who turned out.

"We worked hard to send it down Hancock Street again," White said. "It's a great feeling."

Rich Fahey can be reached at Faheywrite@yahoo.com.