Madisyn Walker with her mother Shallanda Forbes (left) and Luise Viebranz with her father Jems admiring the tree after they threw the switch to light up the lobby at the Hilton.
The adorable girls of the Hindsbury Primary Infants Dance Troupe had the crowd eating out of their hands during their number.
Hilton lights up for Christmas
Both locals and visitors to the Barbados Hilton were treated to a spectacle on Wednesday evening as the resort hosted their annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony.
With several acts on the evening giving those on hand a taste of local talent to whip them into the spirit of the season, the light show got under way just after 5 P.M. With the switch being thrown by little two-year-old Madisyn Walker and three-year-old Luise Viebranz, staff, guests and visitors to the hotel stood in awe as the 12-foot tree lit up the lobby at the historic hotel.
After being reopened in March of 2005, this lighting ceremony remains a fixture in the calendar of events and General Manager Tammy LeBlanc told members of the media that there are no plans to change things.
“This is a tradition that we have been doing for the last 15 years at the Hilton Barbados Resort and we are really happy to be able to include our customers, our team members and the community to be able to join in on our festivities. There is nothing more special than to have Bay Primary and also some of our team members participate in the evening’s proceedings, so it is a great time,” she said.
Founder of the brand, Conrad Hilton, opened his first hotel, the Mobley, in Cisco, Texas back in May 1919 and since then the franchise has opened 5500 hotels around the world. With 100 years being celebrated in 2019, LeBlanc said that the belief that Hilton opened his first hotel on still holds strong today.
“He opened the hotel on one premise and one premise only. He believed that travel could make the world a better place and we want to live his dream every single day and improve and participate in our communities. So one of the big things that we have done this year is really work with different organisations. Whether it's working with Bay Primary or whether it’s thanking or doing random acts of kindness for our firefighters or even working with the Geriatric Hospital. We have just done so many things since May and we do this all year, not just this year. But this year we amped it up a little in celebration of our 100 years and celebrating our light and warmth and hospitality.” (MP)