[Photo Gallery] Turn on the Snow: The Holidays Come to Belmont

For one young reveler, the most wonderful part of last night's "Turn on the Town" celebration wasn't Santa but the "snow" falling along one block of Leonard Street.

"It's NOT cold," he said, picking up handful of artificial snow cascading from the roof of the parking structure adjacent to the Belmont Savings Bank.

One bank employee told a parent watching the snow fall that if nature – while cold, the night was clear and above freezing – wasn't going to provide Santa Claus with a seasonal backdrop, "then we will."

So snow was falling at Belmont's 21th annual 'Turn on the Town' Holiday Celebration in Belmont Center, where hundreds of residents – from new born to seniors – mingled to see the center's evergreen tree in the open lot next to the Hammond Residential Real Estate office turned on by Santa.

The celebration, sponsored by the Belmont Center Business Association, saw Santa arriving 10 minutes early on top of a Belmont Fire Department. He needed a little more help than usual getting off the truck but once on the ground, Mr. Claus greeted excited children and amused adults before getting into a open carriage for the short trip to Belmont Savings Bank where he was met by a line of Santa believers.

Santa had his picture taken with good children - and even a few parents - with the help of bank employees.

Outside, teens and children met with merchants who offered treats, jingle bells, hot cocoa and cider and face painting, as well as cupcake decorating and visits by Frosty and Rudolph. 

And off in the distance, the Belmont High School madrigals sang ancient songs as children danced under the falling snow.