NEW ORLEANS (WGNO)– On Wednesday, December 3rd, the Royal Sonesta Hotel ushered in the holidays with their 9th Annual Lighting of the Balconies. The hotel partners with Children’s Hospital, where two of their patients ‘flip the switch’ that lights up the hotel. WGNO reporter Deepak Saini was there to watch two very special girls bask in the holiday spirit.
You can’t ring in the holidays without Santa. He has plenty of helpers; the Saintsations, the Saints mascot Gumbo and the Pfister Sisters, to name a few. A star studded event for the Royal Sonesta Hotel. But the biggest stars of the night are 16 year old Berkeley Mardis and 3 year old Emma Romsky. Watching Emma, you realize what we all take for granted, like the scent of a fresh Christmas tree, a welcome smell out of the confines of the hospital room.
“I had family in town two months ago and I started having a fever, an instant fever. You have to go to the hospital and you get admitted. You never know what’s going to happen the next day,” says Mardis.
This year, Berkeley and Emma get to do the honors of flipping the switch. It’s a breathtaking display as thousands of lights bask Bourbon Street in a holiday glow. For a little girl so tired, it means the world to see some light even in the darkest of days.
“People look up to me, like Emma, Emma is my BFF. She looks up to me. My sister looks up to me. I have to be strong,” says Mardis.
The Royal Sonesta Hotel commissioned a local artist, Jason Michael Mullan, to make its 2014 Royal Teddy Bear ornament. 100% of the proceeds benefit Children’s Hospital. For more information on where you can buy the ornament, click here.
