Stone Ridge Luminaria This Weekend

This Saturday night, the annual Stone Ridge Candlelight Tour – what most of us call the Stone Ridge Luminaria – will place. It's a tradition spanning more than a quarter century.

It started with the Scott family, who moved to Stone Ridge from New Mexico, where paper  displays are the tradition. According Anne Sauerbrey, on an afternoon in December that first year, the women of the neighborhood, along with their young children, got together to fold their bags. They were told the bags were to be folded three times, in the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Ghost. In Mexican tradition, the luminaria lights the way for the Christ child.

Nowadays, a committee buys all the supplies, then resells them to the residents of Stone Ridge. Any extra money collected, along with additional donations, is donated to the East Greenwich Human Services Food Basket program. In recent years, they've raised more than $1,000.

The lanterns will be lit from 5 to 9 p.m. Take Middle Road to Stone Ridge Drive and follow it into the neighborhood. The lanterns can be found on Crystal Drive, Granite Drive, Limerock Drive, and all along Stone Ridge Drive. Drivers are asked to use their parking lights instead of headlights and to DRIVE SLOWLY. 

There is snow in the forecast. That's not necessarily a deal breaker but check back with EG Patch on Saturday to confirm the date. In case of bad weather, the tour will take place Sunday.