While mentioning things to do in town this holiday season, we would be remiss not to highlight the Camuso Display, which will by lit up for the season each night at the Oval starting on Saturday, December 3. There is no fee to enter the display.For those who are not familiar with the Camuso Holiday Display (and if you have spent a December in Livingston – or read a recent edition of the Tribune – how could you not be?), the spectacular figures were created by the late Ernest Camuso, a toymaker and machinist by trade, and displayed annually on the front lawn of his Burnet Hill Road home. The display grew larger and more elaborate every year, and served (and still does) as a fundraiser for the Cooperman Barnabas Burn Unit.When he passed away, the Camuso family was unable to continue his legacy. Then-Council member Steve Santola met with the family and suggested that they donate all of the nonreligious figures to the township. As a result, a new tradition was born. Each year, the exhibit expands, but still includes a piece of the Camuso legacy in one scene that recreates the front door of the family’s landmark home.To prepare the display, some of Livingston’s dedicated residents (Camuso’s “elves”) take time out of their busy schedules to create a winter wonderland for all at the Oval. The amount of work that goes into maintaining the 50-plus-year-old figures, providing the electrical connections for the lights and figures, and decorating the scenes, is a massive undertaking that takes months of hard work. We all owe a debt of gratitude to these volunteers for bringing joy to our town.Over the years, additional holiday-themed events at the display have been added to the calendar. Special wooden characters will be for sale on opening night as a fundraiser, as they have been in past years. Purchasers’ names will be painted on the characters, and they will be placed around the display. The characters will be given to the donors when the display is taken down. A fee will be charged for each character, and proceeds will go toward the restoration, repair, and upkeep of the display. Also, new this year is a gingerbread house, and patrons are invited to search for a hidden “Elf on the Shelf” inside of it.The opening night lighting ceremony will begin at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, December 3, with ...
