[VIDEO] Pelham Holds 5th Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony

PELHAM, NY—Community members gathered here at the Saturday for the fifth annual tree lighting ceremony.

A horde of youngsters attended the ceremony, which is sponsored by The town of Pelham. The children lined up and waited for an opportunity to tell Santa Claus what they wanted for Christmas.

The event included holiday treats and activities for those in attendance. Small children's gifts were also raffled off. Ruthann DeSimone, secretary to the town  supervisor, said the event began as a way to increase community involvement during the holidays.

"We always liked to have something when we lit the tree and the we said 'why don't we do something for the children in town and have Santa come'," Desimone said. "It kind of evolved from there."

The Pelham Larks, a community choral group for women, sang a few holiday songs for the crowd before the town Christmas tree was lit.

Ruthanne DeSimone is the secretary to the supervisor. An earlier version of this article stated otherwise.