The Holmstad residents enjoying new community

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BATAVIA – The season’s first heavy snowfall came as though on cue as Batavia opened its annual winter festival Sunday at the Batavia Riverwalk.

The lights came on, and the Batavia High School Madrigal Choir performed and led the singing of old favorites like “Jingle Bells” and “Here Comes Santa Claus.”

The line to see Santa Claus was long, but no one seemed to mind.

Tree lights brightened the twilight as children played in the snow – throwing snowballs, shrieking as they chased each other and trying to pack the wet snow into snowmen.

It was like a scene from a Norman Rockwell painting.

“It’s beautiful. It’s Batavia.” said Sue Benson, on her way back from the lighting and the singing. “It was a good turnout. Everybody did a wonderful job. I love our sign on the bridge, ‘Peace on Earth.’ Beautiful. The madrigal singers were great. They were a wonderful addition.”

Joe Knopp, Cubmaster with Pack 112 at Louise White School, which is sponsored by VFW Post 1197, stood in the midst of swirling snowflakes with a necklace of flashing blue  lights.

So much the better for Cub Scouts to find him. The troop of 48 boys from first to fifth grade was one of several other organizations that decorated real trees with various themes at the Riverwalk.

“All the ornaments our boys made are recycled out of something,” Knopp said. “If you look at the tree, you’ll find water bottles, CDs, jar lids, pop cans. Everything on the tree was made of something that could have been thrown away but we made Christmas ornaments out of it instead. And the boys had a good time doing it.”

And he was  having a good time, despite a developing numbness in his fingers.

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world. It’s fun. It’s Batavia,” Knopp said.

Several dogs came out to enjoy the cold weather, including a Tibetan mastiff puppy - 11 months old, 110 pounds and due for another 30-40 pounds at full grown.

“This is his kind of weather,”  said his owner, Rolando Orama, who waited with the dog while his wife and two young daughters waited to see Santa. “His grandfather won Best of Breed in Westminster . I love this festival. I was very pleased to see that many people here it’s a  very nice crowd.”

The dog’s name is Agramonte, named for a 19th century Cuban general, Ignacio Agramonte, who served in the Spanish-American War.

Brian and Amy Ruppert also brought Shiloh, a 100-pound Swiss mountain dog.

“She loves the snow,” Ruppert said.

“We’re here because we’ve lived in town for 23 years and we like to participate in town events and it’s just beautiful,” Amy Ruppert said.

“We wanted to come out and light up the ‘Peace on Earth’ sign, so I brought my big 1 million candle watt flashlight to shine on the sign,” Ruppert said.

The annual event also drew people from outside of town, such as Caitlin Edminton of Aurora. As part of the Big Brothers Big Sisters program, she and her little sister,  Kimberly Lawn, 13, enjoyed the festivities.

“The caroling was really fun,” Kimberly said.