Lyn,

Very inspirational and restorative.  Naturally we will attend and tell others about these festivities.

Alex and Carol Wilson

(Lyn's note: They are referring to the Carefree Christmas Festival.)

 

 

 

I want to add my congrat's and THANKS to Jo Gemmill, Holly Bergman, Vice Mayor Miller, Mayor Schwan, Betsy Wise and all who are keeping Christmas special in Carefree.

Ed Morgan

 

 

 

Hi Lyn,

Please extend my sincere thanks to our fabulous Carefree community.  From generous donations to in-kind help and the selfless giving of hundreds of volunteer hours, to the joy on children and grandparents faces alike as the Parade came through town...this was a community event beyond anything I think Carefree has ever seen.  We had NO idea that a small Christmas celebration would become the "spectacular " that it has turned into.....our small town of 3,500 grew to over 20,000 in just one night!

I am so proud to lead such a stellar group of volunteers and would like to just take a brief moment to acknowledge the Christmas Festival Team:   Vice Mayor Glenn Miller, Kiwanis President Manny Gonzales, Exec. Director of the Chamber of Commerce Patty Villeneuve and Membership Director Marry Livingston, Holly Bergman owner of Wild Holly Gallery and President of the Carefree Business Association, Roberta Toombs Rechlin owner of Magic Bird Festivals, Sharon Schmitz VP of National Bank of Arizona, Kim Prince owner of Proven Media Services.  I also would like to recognize the many additional hours of help from the Posse, the Road Crew, our non-profits including the Chamber of Commerce and Foothills Animal Rescue and the support of our local business owners and residents.

A special thank you too to those who helped provide the entertainment over the 3 day event, including Cactus Shadows High School Choir, The Main Event Swing Band, The Carefree Christmas Chorus led by Kevin Glenn, Doggies of the North Pole, The Community Choir led by Karin Thomas, Horizon School Carolers, Carefree's Mostly Madrigal Singers, Cave Creek Dance Academy, Desert Foothills Library, Carter's Petting Zoo and of course....Santa!   

Thank you too, to the Carefree Resort and Conference Center for their generous sponsorship of the Parade, and to Spirit in the Desert for hosting the Fireworks show.

Carefree is officially on the map as a destination for the family at Christmas, and of course we hope the end result is that more people will think of Carefree for future events and help us energize our local economy in the process.

Yuletide greetings and good wishes to everyone, especially  if I forgot to mention you in my thanks!

Wishing you all a joyous and prosperous holiday season.

Jo Gemmill

Director, Carefree Christmas Festival 2010

 

 

Excellent!

Alex

(Lyn's note:  This response came from Alex after he and Carol attended the Festival.)

 

 

 

I'm soooooooooo glad you wrote this................all involved deserve an award, or a big THANK YOU from the residents of Carefree!!!

Nancy Fulcher

 

 

 

Lyn--also thanks to you for all of the "true" information that you share with us as well as info on community events, etc. Dan & I wish you & your family a wonderful holiday season.

Jan D.