Tag Archives: Lights of Hope

Lights of Hope: Volunteering and Dancing

As many Cheshire residents know, Lights of Hope is just around the corner.  The whole town comes together to support the Pettit family, whose house was set on fire, and took the mother and two daughters along with it.  Neighborhoods make luminaries made up of white paper bags with a candle inside.  It is quite a beautiful sight to drive around town and see the rows of lights on the curbs.  When November comes around I get really excited. My church, the First Congregational Church, places the luminaries all around the green, and I volunteer to set up the luminaries and place them on the walkways and sidewalks.  I also help set up packages of luminaries to send to neighborhoods for them to set up.  You can do this too!

The thing that I am most excited about for this upcoming Lights of Hope is the performance by Rhythm Dance Academy.  I will be performing, and I am very excited.  Between 1 and 3 at the high school, you can see dances performed in the styles of jazz, modern, hip-hop and lyric.  We have been working on our performances since the beginning of September, so we are more than prepared.  The performances will give publicity to the studio, and perhaps we will get new students. Most of the dances will be done by the competition team, and will be fully performed at competitions next spring.  This is the first time that Rhythm will be performing in Cheshire for more than just our parents, so that is especially exciting.  So, as November 9th rolls around, try to see if there is any volunteer work that can be done for Lights of Hope.  Also, make sure you come to Cheshire High on the 9th to watch Rhythm Dance Academy perform.  You won’t regret it!

~Ali

Dancing for a Cause

Many of you have probably heard about the event Lights of Hope. Lights of Hope takes place every year in Cheshire and is usually held at beginning of November. This annual event raises money for local charities. To raise the money, families in Cheshire can buy paper bags and candles to put on the curb in front of their house. At night, the whole town is lit up. This year there will be a performance done by Rhythm Dance Academy, which is where I dance. This performance will be held at the high school before everyone lights their candles. The dancers from the competition team will be showcasing their dances for the new season! Even though theses dances are not yet finished, the audience will get a sneak peek of what they will be like when competition time rolls around. Speaking of the audience, anyone is welcome to come and watch on Saturday November 9!

Personally, I can’t wait to dance at Lights of Hope! My team has been working on our dances since the beginning of September and even though they may not be finished, it will be lots of fun! I’m so glad my team chose to support this cause because when we donate to local charities, we help our community grow and become better. I am excited because different teams will be performing different types of dances. If you go, you may see jazz, tap, lyrical, modern, or hip hop dances. I love watching jazz dances because they are usually upbeat and fun, but all the other dances will be amazing as well. I have never danced at Lights of Hope before so I wonder how it will be. I have danced for other causes before, but I have a feeling that this one will be different because it is for my own town! So, if you are free on November 9th, come see Rhythm Dance Academy Dance at Lights of Hope!

~Jillian

Lights of Hope Takes Action

 

Since 2005, Cheshire’s neighbors have turned to each other to find hope in the midst of darkness.  All while raising more than $310,000 for local charities that are important to our neighbors including Cheshire’s Food Pantry, Cheshire Youth and Social Services, Petit Family Foundation,  American Cancer Society and Multiple Sclerosis Society.   The now-annual Cheshire’s Lights of Hope event has brought together neighbors to help neighbors all with the simple act of lighting a single candle in a bag and illuminating our wonderful town. Upwards of 100 volunteers turn out every year to bring the event to fruition.  From street captains to clean up crew, the town has made this event its own and has helped hundreds of area families with donations to local charities. 100% of proceeds raised go directly to charities.

I feel like this is a very good activity for everyone is Cheshire and its helping and making Cheshire look nice at the same time. My family helps and we put them on the edge of our driveway to make a difference.  I think every family in Cheshire should do this because then we could show that Cheshire cares and we can make a difference. This goes out to tons of people and organizations. Questions I still have for this, is, how can our town make even a bigger difference and show that we care while still keeping the same subject, The Lights of Hope. Another Question that I have is what are some other things that our town is already doing to help and is there any openings for volunteers?

~Vicki Palmer