Party Time!

There were eggrolls (tons of them) . . . Pad Thai, fried rice, beef sticks, cookies, a pineapple coconut cake, lattes, hot chocolate, hot cider, music and magic.

Pineapple coconut cake from Cafe Pastiche in Kearney Square.

Best of all there were hundreds of people who live and/or work in Lowell gathered together talking and laughing; Facebook friends meeting for the first time and old friends reconnecting. The Mayor’s Holiday Reception was a great success thanks to all who attended, the businesses from which we obtained food and the entertainers who volunteered their time and talent. And a VERY special thank you to Comcast for their generous donation that made the party a reality.

John McGovern's musicians from Lowell High School

John McGovern’s musicians from the Lowell High School Fine Arts Department

First — the food. Michael Kit and his staff from the Eggroll Cafe (www.eggrollcafe.com) on University Ave. were terrific and incredibly accommodating to any requests we had. They went above and beyond. We ordered 12 varieties of eggrolls from steak and cheese and crab rangoon to peking and spinach and feta. Something for everyone. Viet Thai (www.vietthailowell.com/) came through at the last minute with a tremendous amount of delicious Pad Thai and fried rice and City Councilor Vesna Nuon, never one to show up to a party empty-handed, brought delicious beef skewers.

The star of the desert table was by far the pineapple coconut cake from Cafe Pastiche (11 Kearney Sq. at the corner of Prescott and East Merrimack Streets). The owners of the cafe, Frank and Val De Assis came through on short notice to fulfill Mayor Murphy’s dream of having a pineapple coconut cake — and they even threw in a big box of cheese bread balls, which are highly addictive.

Lily Page likes desert.

Bob Page also likes desert.

And of course, everyone’s favorite barista, Andy Jacobson from Brew’s Awakening Coffeehaus (www.brewdawakening.com/) was on-hand with a latte, hot chocolate and cider bar that added a special festive touch to the evening.

Shop local. Eat local. Lowell not only has every type of cuisine you could ever crave, but the business owners are incredibly nice, accommodating and fun to work and interact with.