Williston – The community is invited to join the City of Williston in celebrating a treasured holiday tradition with the lighting of the Community Christmas Tree on Nov. 27.
The Christmas tree lighting continues the annual tradition that was re-introduced in 2014. Each year, a tree is chosen from the list of homeowners who have chosen to donate their tree.
This year’s Community Christmas Tree comes from 801 24th St. E, donated by Jackie and Jason Peles.
A Colorado Spruce around 50 ft. tall and weighing about 8,000 lbs, the tree was moved on Tuesday, Nov. 14 to its holder on the corner of 26th St. W and 2nd Ave. W.
The Peles’ were on hand to watch as the tree was harvested, joined by JoAnne Colebank and family, whose father originally planted the tree as a sapling in the early ‘80s. Before the tree came down, Colebank’s adult children took one last picture in front of the tree, recreating a photo of them standing in front of it from when they were children.
“It’s pretty exciting,” Jason said of donating the tree. “Especially being able to meet the people that actually planted the tree. (JoAnne) actually knew my grandparents, so this has kind of brought us all together.”
Colebank’s husband, Wayne, said while it was bittersweet to watch the tree come down, they are honored to be able to share it with the community.
“It’s really neat that everybody gets to see it and enjoy it,” Wayne said. “We’ve got a lot of memories there, we watched that tree grow for 15 years. We were very happy when we heard.”
With the tree in place, the community is invited to the 9th Annual Community Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony on Monday, Nov. 27 at 5:30 p.m. There will be a bonfire, refreshments sponsored by Alliance Consulting, holiday music, and fireworks show sponsored by TNT Fireworks. After a brief ceremony with remarks from Mayor Howard Klug, Dallas Peles, 10, will officially light the tree.
This project was made possible by Dacotah West Crane Service, 11 Bravo Property Services, LLC., City of Williston Public Works, Alliance Consulting, TNT Fireworks, Williston police department, and Williston fire department. Drone footage will also be captured by Alliance Consulting.
In addition, the community is invited to participate in the third annual Community Christmas Tree Ornament Contest!
Individuals are encouraged to get creative and make their best ornament to hang on the tree for a chance to win a prize pack.
The contest is open to all ages with the following age groups:
• 6 and Under; • 7-10; • 11-14; • 15+.
Beginning Monday, Nov. 27, individuals can place their homemade ornaments on the tree. Contest participants have until Friday, Dec. 8 to place their ornaments.
To successfully enter the contest, individuals must:
• Take a picture of their ornament on the Community Christmas Tree OR a picture of them placing their ornament on the Community Christmas Tree
• Submit pictures via Facebook Messenger to the City of Williston (@cityofwilliston) OR the Williston Community Library (@willistoncommunitylibrary) OR email to [email protected]
• Include their name and age AND a name for the ornament
• Place their ornament by Friday, Dec. 8
Two winners from each age group will be selected on Monday, Dec. 11 and announced that week. All submissions will be showcased on the City of Williston Facebook and Instagram pages.
Participants are reminded that ornaments will be outside, so make sure they can withstand the elements if you want them back. A future time frame will be provided for those who would like to retrieve their ornaments, if desired. The Community Christmas Tree will stay up until the end of December.
Individuals are also invited to place ornaments on the tree without participating in the ornament contest.
For more information on this story, please contact Mitch Melberg, Communications Director, at 701.713.3800 or [email protected].
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