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Date: 10/18/2023
WESTFIELD — The Friends of the Westfield Athenaeum are taking orders for their fourth annual Star Lights Luminaria Fundraiser.
This year, they’re encouraging everyone to honor the people who brighten their days: teachers, friends, nurses, city officials, hair stylists, clergy, military veterans, business owners, family members, police officers, waitstaff and more.
“People tend to often think of luminarias primarily as a way to honor loved ones who have passed. That is still true and still welcomed, but we also thought it would be good to encourage people to think of a different way of using luminarias to thank and recognize people who make a difference in their day-to-day lives,” said Joanne Picard, a board member with the Friends of the Westfield Athenaeum.
The luminarias will be displayed in the windows of downtown Westfield businesses throughout December. Personalized luminarias are still $7 each. Funds raised benefit programs such as the Museum Pass Program, Wowbrary email newsletter, crafts programs for children and teens, adult and youth summer reading programs, movie series and many more.
Picard said there are many places that put on luminaria displays to raise money, and one of the other board members thought Westfield was a good location to do something like this. The original plan was to display the luminarias in one place, outdoors at the Athenaeum, but as the event was founded in 2020, the first year of the coronavirus pandemic, city officials said the Friends couldn’t have a gathering of people, even outdoors. The Friends then struck upon the idea of asking local merchants to display the luminarias in their store windows.
It was successful, and the Friends decided they wanted to keep doing it this way even as the restrictions on mass gatherings eased. In each of the past couple of years, the Friends have sold about 250 luminarias. This year, they are looking to increase that number, and they’re hoping that giving ideas about other kinds of people community members can honor will help.
“It’s wonderful to have a tradition like this. It helps keep the Friends and our goals high in people’s minds,” Picard said. “The most rewarding part of doing this fundraiser is the opportunity to work with businesses in the community by involving them in the luminaria display.”
The deadline to order is Nov. 4. To download the order form and to order online, visit www.friendsofwestath.org/luminaria. Payment may be made by check, Venmo or Google Pay. Paper forms are also available from the circulation desks at the Athenaeum, at 6 Elm St., Westfield. For more information, email info@friendsofwestath.org.