Festival of Trees lights up downtown
ZANESVILLE - For the rest of the year, it is a conference room like any other. But at the start of Christmas season, a back room at the Zanesville-Muskingum County Visitors Bureau is transformed into a kind of winter wonderland.
Christmas trees line the walls, wreaths hang here and there, and Kelly Ashby, vice president of the Zanesville-Muskingum County Chamber of Commerce, was busy with last-minute preparations for Friday's Festival of Trees event.
"We see it as a way for the community to just come out and celebrate the holidays," Asby said. "We began this back in 1992, and for so many people, it has become a family tradition to kick off Christmas season."
The Festival of Trees, now in its 23rd year, revolves around a collection of items — some Christmas related, such as specialty designed trees and Santa statues; some less seasonal, such as Ohio State University basketball tickets, video games and hotels packages — that are to be auctioned off from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday. All auctioned items have been donated by local businesses and community members, with all funds collected from the event to go toward creating economic growth, business development and community outreach through the chamber.
"Each year, the goal is to help raise money to create a better environment for businesses in the area," said Tom Poorman, chamber president. "We've been doing this now for more than 20 years, and you would think after so long we'd lose momentum, but it's been just the opposite. The community support has been great each year."
About $50,000 is expected to be brought in by the event, according to Poorman. And while most items to be auctioned off are handmade, specialty pieces contributed by members of the community, a good portion of the revenue can be attributed to the incentives that accompany most items. For instance, a Christmas wreath crafted by a local resident might be coupled with a pass for rounds of golf at the Zanesville Country Club.
In this way, Poorman said, community members and local businesses can come together for their mutual benefit.
"We are still getting some late additions," he said, moving down the rows of trees and wreaths and other pieces. "Most of these were donated by businesses, a few from churches. We even have a fireplace that's going up for auction."
This year, the event also has the distinction of being the kickoff event for Zanesville's Storybook Christmas, which aims to bring community members and businesses together for a celebration of the season — and serve as a means of inciting people to come downtown. With about 80 businesses participating in lighting their storefronts, which is 30 more businesses than participated last year, Ashby said, creating an environment that elicits memories of a traditional Christmas can itself be a way to incite economic growth in the area, if only for a short time each year.
"I can remember as a kid driving around Zanesville, looking at the houses lit up," Ashy said. "We're essentially trying to attract people to come out and have fun, to promote a community spirit."
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