Okay, everyone, hello.

Can I have your attention?

Hello, hello.

Woo!

All right, it's a great night, and I'm glad to welcome you all here to Memorial Plaza in downtown New Rochelle for our holiday lighting.

Woo!

Thanks so much for coming out.

And we are here today to celebrate all of the different holidays in December.

I'm Catherine White with the New Rochelle Chamber of Commerce, and we have a number of people I'd like to introduce, but because it's a little chaotic, it may not be in total order.

But to begin with, I'd love to introduce our mayor Yadira Ramos Herbert.

Woo!

City Manager Will Melendez.

Deputy City Manager Todd Costaldo.

We have Fire Chief Andy Sandor here with us.

City Council Representative Shane Ocean Loyer.

We have from Westchester County a lot of representatives today.

Of course, we'll start with County Executive Ken Jenkins.

And in case you didn't hear that, the first time that was Ken Jenkins, because we are live outside on Main Street.

Of course, we also have Westchester County legislator Judith Judith Holstein and Terry Clements.

I believe Martha Lopez, another City Council representative and director of MWBE is here with us.

We also have from Parks and Rec who just did a fantastic job with the Rudolph event.

We have Commissioner Vin Parisi.

And from the New Rochelle Downtown Bid, the brand new executive director, Ann Gold.

And I think that's everyone, because I'm a little blinded by the spotlights.

So thank you all for coming, officials and the crowd.

I'd also like to say events like this are only happening in the city of New Rochelle with the support of so many of our local businesses and organizations.

So I'd like to give a shout out to the many sponsors who are here today.

And we have girls who are giving out, we have uh gifts and presents for them as well.

So we have the tree is sponsored by High Life Health.

The Minora is sponsored by Cannabis Reserve, and owner Jay Gutierrez is here with us today.

Humble Bumble booksellers who you can find at the holiday market in New Rock City on the second floor.

They are the Kwanzaa sponsors, so we're very thrilled to have them.

Riverside Memorial Chapel is here representing the dreidels.

The girls have packets of dreidels and gelt that they're giving out, so please make sure all the kids get those.

So please make sure you get those as well.

We have um from the um for the cookies, of course, we have Orlando here with New Rochelle Bakery, he's right there.

Lovely fresh goods from New Rochelle Bakery, we love that.

Alicia's bakery on the other end of Main Street, they're here too with their cookies.

Stop and shop and Sea Town in downtown New Rochelle have also donated.

And Hot Chocolate has been supplied by Beachbond Tavern, the Lions Club, Kenny's on the water, and Leibans right across the street, where we all get our school supplies and uniforms.

So just again, thank you so much, and don't forget to get all the handouts from the girls, the glasses, the dreidels, the Kwanzaa packets, and of course, Santa, when he gets here, has candy cans for everyone.

So with that, we'd like to bring up just a little performance from songcatchers.

Just kind of buy those microphones, please.

Very, very reasonable music lessons, both in choir and musical instruments.

So if you'd like to check them out at any time, you're welcome to go to songcatchers.org and you'll find out about them.

They're usually an annual performer here with us.

So I'm Robert Paleo, director of uh the choir of songcatchers.

And we're gonna begin with a song for Hanukkah, Spin Spin Spin, which is a song about dancing the horror.

And uh Hanukkah begins December 14th.

The holiday begin!

The holiday begins.

Let's all give a cheer for Honey Guy.

Celebrating as we dance and sing.

The holiday begins.

Let's all give a cheer for Honey Fun and Cheer for Holly Folies.

Hi.

Excellent.

Excellent.

And now we have a Spanish song.

Burrito about a donkey that needs to be hurried to go to the manger.

One, two, and salmon.

Don't get on it to be doopy.

Don't you don't think of the goofy?

Don't you don't think of the salad?

Sweeting.

Bravo!

Thank you.

Happy holiday.

Okay.

Alright, be careful over walking out with you.

Okay, once again, thank you so much, songcatchers.

And we remind you we have hot chocolate and cookies available over there.

So during the performances, please make your way over, or later on in the evening, they'll still be there until we run out of supplies.

Okay, and now I'd like to bring up our mayor, Yadira Ramos Herbert.

There we go.

Woo!

Hello, hello, hello, new rochelle.

Thank you all for being out here in this weather.

Very briefly in English and Spanish.

Tonight we're celebrating not only lighting of the Trio Minora, but the light of our community.

May this holiday season bring us peace, joy, and moments of togetherness.

I am so grateful for each and every one of you.

Happy holidays, New Shell.

And now our city manager, Will Melendez.

Hi.

This is a great turnout.

This is awesome.

Uh thank you for coming out.

It's a little cold tonight, but wow, you showed a lot by coming out tonight.

I want to thank uh first of all, on behalf of our city staff, all of our operating departments at City Hall, especially Parks Department, Vimperisi, Warren, Brian, all the guys for setting this up.

Thanks a lot.

You guys do a great work.

Uh thank you for our county friends for being here tonight, our city council members.

Uh it's a great time.

The holiday season, it's always a special time, whether you're celebrating Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa.

It's all about tradition, coming together, and family.

So again, thank you for coming out tonight.

Enjoy it.

This is a great celebration, and it's a great um, it's a great thing to see in New York Shell that we could all get together as one and celebrate something like this.

Thank you again.

Okay, thank you so much.

And now from Westchester County, the county executive, Ken Jenkins.

Alright, so happy holidays, everybody.

It is so great being down here.

Let's give it up for our newest sale chamber of commerce and all the sponsors putting it together.

Our new Russian Parks apartment, making sure it all happens.

Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, happy three kings, and festivals for the rest of us.

Thank you so much.

And now representing the New Rochelle downtown Bid, Executive Director, and go to Hello everybody, thank you for showing up.

What a wonderful celebration.

Give yourselves an applause.

Lauren leading the parade as Rudolph like takes the cake.

Then great job.

But we also have to give a huge round of applause to Catherine White in the chamber because she leads this and it's amazing.

Happy holidays, everybody.

Make sure that you stroll afterwards, eat at restaurants, come back tomorrow.

We've got so much happening downtown and at the annual market.

You are the heart of New Rochelle.

Thanks for being here.

Okay.

And now we're in for a treat.

We have brand new to the route to the uh holiday lighting.

We have a lovely gospel quartet for you, the sisters in Christ.

So please come out.

Are we ready?

Okay.

And again, just so you remember when um downtown we have in New Rock for the first time an indoor holiday market.

Lots of shopping and it's super warm, so it's the best.

Parents, if you're in there and dropping off your kids for the movies or for soccer roof or anything else happening in New Rock, why not stop and shop?

There's also free ice skating down in there as well.

It's on the second floor in New Rock, and everyone is welcome.

It runs until December 14th.

It's there 12 till 8 p.m.

on the weekends and four till 8 p.m.

during the week.

So everyone is welcome to that.

And as Ann said, of course, our downtown is open for all of your holiday needs.

Whether you need gifts or you're going out to eat, or whether you need gift cards.

So please remember to support New Rochelle.

I always say hashtag shop local, hashtag shop new row.

Good evening, everyone.

My name is Minister Angela Davis Farish.

I serve as the chair of the African American Advisory Committee for the City of New Rochelle.

But tonight I'm representing our quartet group called Sisters in Christ.

And we are waiting for our fourth singer, Joy Evans from Bethesda Baptist Church.

And I am from Charlotte Baptist Church in New Rochelle.

So we need you all to join in as we minister in song this evening.

Good evening, everyone.

Good.

I'm going to be singing Oh come Ocome Emmanuel.

Oh come, all coming.

Shall come to thee.

Oh, shall come to the sleigh bells ring, are you listening?

In the lane.

So is glistening.

A beautiful sigh.

We're happy tonight.

We're walking in the winter wonderland.

Slave ring.

And the lake snow is glistening.

A beautiful sigh.

We're happy tonight.

We're walking in the winter wonderland.

In the meadow, we can build a snowman.

We'll say, are you married?

You'll say no man.

But we can do the job while you're in town.

Later on we'll conspire as we dream by the fire.

The plans that we make.

We're walking in a winter wonderland.

Are we walking?

We're walking in a winter wonderland.

Are we walking?

We're walking in a winter.

Okay, where's that microphone?

Okay, thank you very much.

And now what are the moments we're all been waiting for?

We're gonna light the tree.

So if the mayor has the buttons every day together, all right, all right, right.

Counting, am I counting?

Counting.

We'll count with you.

Hands out, hands out, bring it together.

Three that's amazing.

Do you have that microphone?

Okay, and so we'll have a little more music while we wait for Santa Who should be coming in a minute.

Glory to the new voicing life.

Joyful nations out the tide with the joy cross proclaim.

Glory to the new water of the hair sea.

Glory to the new walking honor and mercy my God is in a freaking light.

We wish you a Merry Christmas.

We wish you a Merry Christmas.

We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

We wish you a Merry Christmas.

We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

And growing Christmas be