By Joseph Cyr
Staff Writer
HOULTON — The magic of Christmas should shine a little bit brighter this coming holiday season.
Thanks to the efforts of the Greater Houlton Chamber of Commerce, the town Christmas tree will get a fresh set of lights, complete with a new tree topper, as well as a bunch of new banners to ring in the holidays.
“It all started with a conversation about Christmas lights and a challenge to raise the money necessary to change the lights on the Christmas tree in Market Square,” said Jane Torres, executive director for the Chamber. “It seems that the LED lights just didn’t glow like people expected them to and ‘wasn’t there something we could do as a community to restore the sparkle that the trees of Christmas past seemed to have?’”
Torres said she remembered having a similar thought last year, but it was too late in the season to raise enough money to get the order delivered on time.
“This year would be different,” she said. “When that catalog for municipal lighting displays arrived in the Chamber mail I realized, it was now or never. I was pretty sure it had to be now because there was no way that the Christmas tree topper, circa 1979 and held together with electrical tape, was going back on top of that tree.”
Torres then expanded her idea to more than just the tree lights and came up with an idea to purchase 30 holiday-themed banners to hang along the light poles throughout downtown.
“We had brackets for banners already set on the light poles, so why not put up seasonal banners right down the center of Market Square and Main Street,” she said.
Torres set out to start fundraising by contacting Jon McLaughlin at the Southern Aroostook Development Corporation for suggestions on how to begin. Unbeknownst to Torres, McLaughlin sent her idea to a number of sources and within a few days, the Chamber was able to collect $5,150 in donations for the purchases.
“All of this is local money, some from businesses, some from individuals, but all because those involved care about our town and hope to spread a little joy this holiday season,” Torres said.
