In order to bring the community together and create a festive atmosphere in town, Souderton Connects and officials set up decorations around the community and hosted holiday events after Thanksgiving.
Former Souderton Connects president Liza Leister said that when the Souderton Business Improvement District was first formed, they bought light up snowflakes to hang on the telephone poles around town.
“They put them up mainly on Main Street, but there are a few that go up on Broad, and maybe one or so on County Line,” Leister said.
According to Leister, decorating around the town for the holiday season “joins the community together” and “brings a festive atmosphere to Souderton.”
Souderton resident Kylie Harrington agrees that the decorations help build a festive atmosphere for the holiday season.
“It helps to build the excitement of the town, especially with all of the new decorations that are coming in December to go along with the annual Christmas tree lighting in town,” Harrington said.
According to Harrington, Souderton’s tree lighting was updated this year and moved into the Univest parking lot on Broad Street.
It included new things to offer the community, like hot chocolate, games for kids and carolers.
The Souderton Holiday Parade also took place on December 2, the day after the tree lighting, Leister said.
According to Leister, the parade is an annual tradition for the town that included local businesses and different clubs or groups from the high school.
“It’s just a representation of our entire community, and everybody comes out and has a great day with it. It’s a lot of fun to see your neighbors and businesses that you visit all the time just represent themselves in the parade,” Leister said.
Souderton Mayor Dan Yocum said that the holiday parade and the tree lighting are two events that help Souderton keep its culture and heritage.
“You definitely feel like you’re in small town America when you’re at a tree lighting and a parade where the whole town comes out and celebrates together. There’s something special about that that I think doesn’t exist in most towns,” Yocum said.
Harrington said participating in these events gives her the opportunity to meet more people and be part of the community.
“I enjoy being a pillar in the community. You know, not only do you meet people, but you make connections,” Harrington said.
Yocum said that another activity he enjoys is riding around the community and passing out candy to kids with the fire company on Christmas Eve.
“The firemen and volunteers on the back of those trucks are spending their Christmas Eve away from their own families to spread that joy to other people in town, so that’s pretty special,” Yocum said.
Yocum also said that the holiday season is an important time to give back to people in our community who need support.
“We live in sort of an affluent community, so sometimes it’s easy to forget that we have neighbors in need. But there are certainly people in our community that could use support,” Yocum said.
Yocum said organizations, like Keystone Opportunity Center, help people in the community during this time of the year.
Leister, who is also employed at Travel Haus on Broad Street, said that as a local business, they also work with Keystone Opportunity Center and other organizations to donate what they can.
“We ask our clients to try and give back, because that’s what this season is about,” Leister said.
