A bright Yachats holiday tradition is up and glowing in downtown Yachats, and no, you didn’t miss the notice — there wasn’t any.
Due to COVID-19 safety concerns, Mayor John Moore and his Christmas tree team opted to keep the lighting ceremony Monday night small and quiet.
Now the 25-foot Noble fir on the north end of the lot of the C&K Plaza is beaming out holiday cheer under a lighted star. Led by realtor Wendy Snidow in her fourth year of organizing the event, the tree team — City Manager Shannon Beaucaire and Mark Shepherd — spent most of a day at Phil Spulnik’s Sleepy Hollow Tree Farm in Waldport selecting the tree.
Then, the tree was placed in a three-foot hole, part of a concrete anchor system engineered by Shepherd. “Pioneer Connect provides two guys, a truck and a crane for pretty much a whole day,” to transport, place and tie down the donated tree, said Snidow. “Thank goodness for those guys.”
The commercial-grade, outdoor lights are provided by the city, combined with donations from local businesses. The Noble fir was selected because “It withstands the wind” better than other types of holiday trees, Snidow said. “Last year, with the stability of the five anchors securing the tree, it lasted all through New Year’s. We don’t expect any issues” this year.
“Normally we’d have a big crowd here” for the ceremony, said Moore in a YouTube video of the event, “but of course a crowd is inappropriate with COVID.”
Last year, when the lighting ceremony was promoted in advance and drizzly skies didn’t deter a happy crowd from gathering to enjoy carollers, hot cocoa and cookies.
“Next year will be different,” Snidow vowed.
— Cheryl Romano
