The Village of Lindenhurst's Annual Tree Lighting and Parade packed extra holiday punch on Sunday night when supermodel Heidi Klum showed up to join the festivities and hand out gifts to local kids.
Klum teamed up with Patch and AOL, as well as the American Red Cross, to deliver targeted goods to Hurricane Sandy-impacted areas on Long Island yesterday - including Seaford and Lindenhurst.
After heading to Seaford, Klum arrived in the Village at about 5:30 p.m., just as the annual Parade made its way to the grandstand in front of Monument Plaza at the corner of East Hoffman and South Wellwood avenues.
The Parade featured floats, holiday characters, Santa and a host of Lindenhurst Fire Department trucks decked out for the season, plus the Lindenhurst High School marching band and a host of elected officials, including Mayor Tom Brennan, the Village Board, Babylon Town Supervisor Rich Schaffer and Deputy Supervisor Tony Martinez.
The Parade began at Shore Road Park this year to bring some holiday cheer to residents South of Montauk Highway who were hit hard by Sandy.
After the Parade made its way in front of the grandstand, it was time to light the tree.
Helping to light the tree were Ken and Alice Weckerle, long-time Lindenhurst residents, a well-respected and active couple in the community and active members of the Lindenhurst Historical Society, which once again co-sponsored the Tree Lighting.
After a few tries, a lot of laughter and some LIPA jokes, the tree was finally lit.
Klum thanked the crowd and quipped that she didn't play with the electricity or the tree at all as the Village crews worked to get the tree finally lit.
She told Patch she wanted to come to Lindenhurst to bring some holiday cheer, and was working with the Red Cross to do just that.
"We were just in Seaford, and then came here with a truck filled with toys and other needed supplies," she said.
She later called Lindenhurst on her Twitter feed "an inspriing community."
Mayor Brennan also thanked everyone for coming, including Klum, and thanked the LFD for their hard work during Sandy - to which the happy crowd, excited to see Klum, roared even more.
He then explained that Klum would be handing out gifts to children between five and 12 years old from the truck. And after a rush to the truck, Klum with the help of Patch handed out toys to boys and girls in the community.
Take a look through the Lindy Lens gallery at the night's festivities.
Additional photos and videos were supplied by Lindenhurst residents following Sunday night's festivities. Be sure to share your photos of this event by uploading them to the above gallery or here - yours could be the next Lindenhurst Resident Photo of the Day!
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