Northport's holiday season has an unusual starting gun. On Saturday, November 28, at 6:30 p.m., the village will switch on its leg lamp for the 21st year, at 90 Main Street, home of the Firefly Artists. The lighting runs about an hour, it is free, and it falls on Small Business Saturday, the weekend after Thanksgiving when shoppers are encouraged to buy from local stores.

How a gag gift became a tradition

The story, as the organizers tell it, starts 21 years ago in a hardware store. The mayor of Northport was visiting the owners of the Northport Hardware Company when they came across an old gag gift, a leg lamp of the kind made famous by the holiday film A Christmas Story. They put it in the front window and gave it a salute. Two decades later, that moment has grown into a community night on Main Street.

The Firefly Artists, the arts group based at 90 Main Street, now produces the evening. The group says the lighting draws roughly 1,500 people, and that local performers donate their time; the costs of putting on the night, including professional sound and lighting, run into the thousands of dollars and are covered by sponsors and the raffle.

The raffle

Local businesses donate raffle prizes, which are displayed in shop windows around the village in the weeks before the lighting and shared on the Firefly Artists' social pages. Tickets are sold online and in person at 90 Main Street, by cash or check:

  • 1 ticket for $5
  • 5 tickets for $20
  • An arm's length of tickets for $50
  • A wingspan of tickets for $100

There is also a cash 50-50 drawing. Proceeds go to the Firefly Lights Fund, which pays for future community events and funds local sponsorships and scholarships.

Bring food for Island Harvest

The lighting doubles as a collection point for Island Harvest, the Long Island food bank. Food and money are collected at the event and at the gallery through the end of the year, and donations can also be made online through the Firefly Artists' site. The organizers say grocery gift cards and monetary donations are the most useful. Suggested items:

  • Canned tuna or chicken, canned vegetables, soups and stews
  • Gravy, stuffing and mashed potato mix
  • Beans, rice and quinoa, nuts and dried fruit, peanut butter
  • Oats and low-sugar cereals, shelf-stable milk and 100 percent juice (no glass bottles)
  • Cooking oils and personal care products

How to go

The lighting is Saturday, November 28, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at 90 Main Street, Northport. Admission is free. Businesses that want to sponsor can reach the Firefly Artists at 631-651-5545 or through the event page, which also has the raffle and the food drive donation links.

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