NAPLES
A chance to see snow and meet Santa Claus on Monday in Naples to get into the holiday spirit with live music during the 45th annual Christmas Tree Lighting.
The Naples Police Department is closing 13th Street at the corner of Third Street in preparation for the tree lighting, which will take place around 6:20 p.m.
Around 4:00 p.m., the crowd, enraptured by this spectacle, began to fill the square
The area where the tree lighting takes place has been touched by Jan, making people even more ready to celebrate.
Tree lighting businesses are also happy to see more customers than usual.
Elia Piteri, manager of the Sea Salt restaurant in the area, spoke to WINK News about how beneficial the ceremony can be.
“It’s very important to us because there are a lot of people who will enjoy the show at the beginning of the season. We’re going to have over 300 covers tonight,” Peteri said.
“We closed for five or six business days and we didn’t have much damage after that. So we replaced all the carpet, we replaced the drywall inside,” Pieteri said.
However, the sea salt neighbors will not be as lucky as the restaurant.
Craig DeLonghi, owner of John Craig Clothier, explained that it was open Monday for the first time since the hurricane more than six weeks ago.
“I don’t know how we did it. I thought we wouldn’t be able to until mid-December, January,” DeLonghi said.
Surprised at how well his team came together just in time for the third day of Christmas.
“They came in and did an incredible job with the drywall or wood, the flooring, the electricians and, last but not least, our cabinet maker,” DeLonghi said.
The Third St. South business district will be celebrating through Christmas and into the New Year.
Watch the full Christmas on Third report above.
