Old Lyme - Though a rainy evening, the mood was festive inside Memorial Town Hall one evening last week as students donning attire, from reindeer antlers to Santa hats, performed a holiday concert.

About 65 students from the Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School Band played a series of songs, such as "Jingle Bells," "The Hanukkah Song," "Frosty the Snowman" and "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree," on shiny instruments.

Parents, siblings, residents and officials gathered to hear the concert at the annual tree-lighting event, with an overflow of attendees spilling from the meeting room into the Town Hall lobby.

Towards the end of the concert, a tree outside was lit with soft-colored lights, visible through the window, and the students began playing "O Christmas Tree."

"It was wonderful," said Ellen Nichele, whose son, Jonathan, a seventh-grader, played the drums. "It put you in the holiday spirit."

The sixth, seventh and eighth grade students from the band, an elective at the middle school, play an array of instruments, including flute, clarinet, trumpet, trombone, baritone, french horn, bass guitar, percussion and saxophone. Students are familiar with the holiday songs, so it's a great way for them to practice their skills, said Carrie Wind, the band's director. The sixth-graders also have to rise to the skill level of the eighth-graders for the concert.

"They did a great job," Wind said. "They played with enthusiasm and raised their technical skills."

Wind said more and more students join the band each year, and some students are so dedicated that they often practice during lunch.

The Lyme-Old Lyme Chamber of Commerce sponsored the event, a tradition for more than 15 years. The concert was held outside in the Old Lyme Marketplace in years past, but moved to Old Lyme Memorial Town Hall four years ago. The Public Works Department planted a tree for the occasion, said chamber president Cathy Frank. The chamber sponsors "Light up Old Lyme," a series of events over a six-week period from mid-November to early January. The event features exhibits at local museums, holiday markets, concerts and holiday strolls, according to the chamber's website.

"It's just a great way for everyone to collaborate and to make it a really fun holiday for everyone," said Frank.

In East Lyme, residents also celebrated the holiday season with the 26th annual Niantic Light Parade on Dec. 7, which featured 39 floats.

People lined Main Street and Pennsylvania Avenue for the colorful event, which grows every year, according to Laura Bellefleur, an East Lyme police cadet.

Along Main Street near the town green, parents bundled toddlers in blankets, children sipped on hot cocoa and a DJ played "Jingle Bell Rock."

"It's just an old time tradition," said Patti Foley, of Niantic, who waited with her daughters and grandchildren for the parade. She's attended every year.

"It's cozy and people are friendly and it's everything you could want. It gets you in the holiday spirit."

The winners in several categories were: Sign Craft for commercial/business and overall; Yantic Fire Department for fire department/municipal; All the Right Moves for dance company; Oswegatchie Friends for family/neighborhood; and CareCo Shoreline for non-profit organization, according to the light parade's website.

(Staff writer Deborah Straszheim contributed to this report.)

K.DRELICH@THEDAY.COM

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