With addition of candy canes, children take part in Shelburne Falls decoration efforts

December 27, 2020 : Greenfield Recorder, by Mary Byrne

SHELBURNE FALLS — The village is looking a little more festive now, thanks to the addition of decorative candy canes crafted by students of Buckland-Shelburne Elementary School.

As of early last week, the railing between the Arms Library and People’s United Bank on Bridge Street, as well as the railing in front of Buckland Town Hall, have been decorated with candy canes made by local students.

According to Whit Sanford, a board member of the Greater Shelburne Falls Area Business Association (GSFABA), teacher Katie Derry and one of her students’ parents, Becci Coburn, reached out with the offer to donate homemade candy canes made by her preschool class to decorate the village in time for last-minute shoppers to enjoy.

Sanford said in a press release that Nan Parati and Nick Doneilo, both of whom are members of the volunteer decorating committee for the village, “accepted without hesitation.”

Each of the candy canes that were hung by Doneilo and the Coburn family included a tag with the name of the child who made the candy cane, Sanford said. The tags, she noted, were made by Parati.

“It just personalizes the whole thing,” Parati said in the release.

Annette Szpila, chair of the Bridge of Flowers Committee, said in the release that the students’ contribution to the village shows “we’re all in this together.

“And this is just one more way to let the shop and restaurant owners know how much we care about their survival in these difficult times,” she said. “It’s so great to have the children take part in this effort.”

As GSFABA continues to raise money for the recently secured Commonwealth Places Grant from MassDevelopment — a $30,000 matching grant — Sanford said “the brightest light” has been the outpouring of support for the local establishments.

“It’s a super community effort,” she said.