Snowflake Festival Lights Up Lake Hiawatha

Rain last week forced the postponement of the first-ever Snowflake Festival, but the event finally came off without a hitch Tuesday evening. Held at the Chief Hiawatha Park gazebo on North Beverwyck Road, the party was all about celebrating the season and the holiday decorations purchased by FLH to make Parsippany look a lot like Christmas.

Over the past months, the group held two fundraisers and collected donations from local residents and shopkeepers to cover the cost of holiday decorations for the town, which would not fit into the municipal budget. 

"We raised more than $9,000," said FLH commitee member Antoinette Piccolo-Simmons. "We give thanks to everyone who helped."

The event featured a raffle—top prizes were two youth bicycles—plus hot chocolate, cookies, Kabob Paradise wrap sandwiches and music. The highlight, however, was a visit from Santa Claus, who arrived at the park via a Lake Hiawatha Fire Company truck, and posed for pictures with children (and sometimes, their parents).