Brandon Lights Up for the Holidays

Brandon showed up in numbers to celebrate the 28th annual lighting of the Christmas Tree at .

True to expectations, it was a night of celebration, merriment and tradition

The performances opened with Leonard's Academy of Dance, performing an interpretive number to the song, "Mary Did You Know?"

The Dec. 7 event itself opened with a colorguard presentation by Boy Scout Troop 110, under scoutmaster Steve Saunders.

It ended with the lighting of the Christmas tree in the lake between Parsons Avenue and the Sandy Rodriguez Center on Vonderburg Drive, which houses as well the Brandon Regional Library.

At the switch ceremoniously was Santa Claus, who for years has born a striking resemblance to long-time community supporter Vince Ferraro.

"I'm usually the person in the back coordinating everything, so this year was the first year I've been out front hosting and watching," said Dawn Galia, executive director of Center Place. "The best thing is seeing the little kids enjoy[ing themselves] and knowing what this does for the them, because we know how good art is for children."

The event gave the audience quite a show as talent, with singers, from Music Showcase; dancers, from the Brandon Ballet, Leonard's Academy of Dance and Kim Hall's School of Dance; and actors and actresses, from Tampa Bay Family Theater.

The year's highlight, once again, was the Ambassadors show choir, from Bloomingdale High, with a unique interpretation of "The 12 Days of Christmas."

For decades the annual treat has been presented by choral director Bev Sutherland, both as the long-term choral director for Bloomingdale and during her one-year stint at Newsome.

This year is the first year the show has gone on without Sutherland, who retired from the school system last year.

But her legacy lives on.

"Bev Sutherland brought this piece to us 25-plus years ago and it's always been the highlight of the evening," said Lisa Rodriguez, the marketing director for Center Place, which shares space with the Brandon Regional Library in the Sandy Rodiguez Center, which was named for the director's husband and a Center Place founder.

Each year, 12 students are selcted to sing in costume their unique interpretations of each of the song's characters, from the "partridge in a pear tree" to the "drummers dumming."

"We're very pleased to be involved with this every year," said Jason Locker, who replaced Sutherland at Bloomingale High. "When you see all the little kids down in front and see their faces light up while they enjoy the music means a lot to us."

Having not performed since Veterans Day, the Ambassadors were happy to perform the material in front of a smaller audience.

"We've got our Christmas show at the school coming up on Dec. 13, so tonight was a good way for us to prepare," Locker said. "Since the beginning of November we've been working on this material, so we're glad to get a chance to perform it, but more importantly, we're happy to have the chance to get out and do something like this in the community."

Much of the crowd was comprised of parents but others were there simply for the show and for a chance to applaud local talent.

"I was in choir in high school so I really enjoyed a lot of what they did here tonight," said Maria Harrylal of Brandon, who attended with her 18-month-old daughter. "My daughter is my first child, so I want to get out to as many events in the community as I can with her. I hope she enjoyed the show, too, because I envision her up there performing when she gets older. It's nice to have a way to expose her early."

For Galia, the show is just the beginning of an extremely busy part of the calendar, but always one of her favorites to stage.

"Our December is one thing after another, but this is an event that people start calling about in August," Galia said. "This event is one of my favorites because it's really good exposure for the younger performers and it's a chance for us to offer a good, free event to the members of our community."