Issue 5 - North Canton City Schools - sparcc

NEWS
Citizens, Santa celebrate
CAITLIN SAMPSEL
New event brings
parade downtown
!Juniors Jessica Oravec and Megan Deering
sing Christmas carols with HiNotes at the holiday
parade. Along with HiNotes, Hoover vocal groups
HiLo’s, Jazznotes, and the Hoover 13 performed
at the first time event.
BY GEORGIANA CONDRIC Staff Writer
When change occurs, the outcome
can be both good and bad. So far, this
holiday season change has turned out
pretty well.
The annual North Canton holiday celebration
took place Nov. 29, and with it
came a few surprises never seen in previous
years. In addition to the usual tree
lighting and caroling, this year’s festivities
also included an equestrian parade,
numerous food vendors and a special
performance by the Royer family.
The annual holiday celebration has
always been something that the citizens
4 ! The Viking Views ! 12.19.03
of North Canton look forward to, but the
many unexpected changes added an extra
spark to the day for many people, including
Mayor Tom Rice.
“I thought it was a lot of fun–a new,
unique event for the city,” Rice said.
Many of the new festivities took place
thanks to planning by North Canton
Chamber of Commerce member Ron
Kindy and his family.
Several new events were modeled after
a similar holiday celebration that the
Kindy’s had seen in Lebanon, Ohio.
When planning events for North Canton’s
celebration, the Kindy’s thought an
equestrian parade, as seen in Lebanon,
would be just the thing to help North
Canton kick-off the holiday spirit.
“We started to call different people
[who owned horses and sleighs] and
things started to travel by word of
mouth,” said Laurie Kindy, Ron’s daughter.
“Soon we were getting letters from
people who were volunteering themselves
to be in the parade.”
Another new highlight of the evening
was a performance by the Royer family
of Lake Township. The Royer’s act consists
of a father, John, and son, Jonathon,
playing the trumpets, while
mother, Jenny accompanies
daughter, Jennifer, by playing
the ivory keys while Jennifer
sings.
Laurie Kindy says that her father
was so impressed by the
family’s talent when he saw them
perform at his church, that he decided
they would be an excellent
addition to the celebration.
Entertainment was not the
only new addition to the parade;
citizens attending the celebration
were also kept content with
the abundance of area food vendors
donating tasty treats throughout the
night. Among the vendors were businesses
such as Starbucks and Grinders.
“The food helped to warm people up
ASHLEY PUCCI
and make it so they could stay out in the
cold,” Laurie said.
According to Laurie, the Kindys have
sent surveys to those that participated
in this year’s celebration to see how the
recent changes have been accepted.
“Every single survey that we have
received so far has had nothing negative
to say, and everyone is willing to
participate again next year,” She said.
The adults were not the only members
of the Kindy family who were involved
in the planning of the holiday
celebration; Laurie’s daughter Rachel
Leith, a senior at Hoover, also played a
part in making sure that the day ran
smoothly.
“On the day of the parade, I was there
from 12 p.m. until seven or eight o’clock
at night. I helped to check people in and
make sure that everything was on track,”
Leith said.
Leith also got the opportunity to get
up close and personal when she rode in
a sleigh during the equestrian parade.
Overall Leith feels that the new holiday
celebration was a huge success.
"See PARADE, p.5
"See PARADE p. 5
! Horses in this year’s inaugural equestrian
parade take part in the festivities.
Thirty units of horses with sleighs, carriages
and riders participated in the event.