We don’t think we’re being over-enthusiastic in saying that the Capitol Christmas Tree celebration Friday brought out the best of Sweet Home in a lot of ways.
If anybody’s poo-pooing that, we wonder if they bothered to show up.
When we listened to public officials talking about their experience here, they seemed genuinely enthusiastic. Of course, public officials always have nice things to say at public events because that’s part of the job, but we really got the feeling they’d caught the vibe that seemed to permeate the celebration as a whole.
It was clearly visible as the mayor, city manager and their spouses really got into Cloverdayle’s always-fun cover of the 4 Non-Blondes’ “What’s Up?” with its mandatory audience participation (see page 15).
People had a great time and they turned out for this. It was a fun time.
It really was a pretty spectacular day, starting with set-up and ending long after the last parade float had gone to bed.
We talk a lot about volunteerism here in Sweet Home and we all know that enthusiasm can flag at times, that the availability isn’t quite what it needs to be.
Not this time.
The commitment of the volunteers, starting with the committee members who planned the whole thing, delivered a memory that most of us will not forget any time soon. Which is good, since this is probably going to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for most of us.
Local folks spent a lot of time and attended a lot of meetings to make sure they had things nailed down by Nov. 9.
Early Friday morning, members of the Key Club, the high school arm of the Kiwanis Club, were out in the cold, directing traffic and helping get set up for the event. One in particular, we noted, stood in the 18th Street driveway of the high school that entire time to handle the traffic flow into the high school.
Things just seemed to go pretty smoothly, at least from our perspecdtive. There didn’t seem to be a lot of glitches, which was significant given that this was the first time Sweet Home has done this event.
The turnout was tremendous. It was just terrific to see people come out and celebrate a unique opportunity that was given our community. Those who didn’t missed out on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
As we noted above, we probably won’t have this chance again although other forests have had repeat productions. District Ranger Nikki Swanson pulled a lot of strings and knocked on a lot of doors to make this happen, and she made it pretty clear it was going to be a one-shot deal.
Well, Sweet Home made it count. The parade was excellent, replete with creative floats of all kinds, lighted log trucks and other vehicles that preceded the 100-foot flatbed truck bearing the tree. It was great representation from local organizations and churches, including the high school band.
We weren’t sure, frankly, what to expect when we heard community members would get a chance to sign the tree. Well, it was an impressive sight, as very serious local residents took their chance to leave their John Henry’s and other little love notes on a banner that will go all the way to Washington, with stops at 20-plus other communities along the way.
It was nice to hear from Sen. Ron Wyden and other dignitaries who spoke before Cloverdayle performed Friday night to cap things off, while local budding performers Moriah Winn and Ashley Farthing, and the Sweet Home Symphonic Choir provided more high-grade entertainment.
Kudos to organizers for giving these talented kids a chance to perform during this very important community event.
Cloverdayle was terrific, but that’s not surprising.
Unfortunately, they didn’t get on stage till 9-ish and a lot of the crowd was exhausted at that point – or unaware that they were playing, which depleted their audience as the show went on.
Kudos to all the public servants who stayed right there in the front row to cheer them on.
We think the most memorable moment, though, was an apparently off-the-cuff comment made by local youth minister Don Knight, who capped off the speeches before Cloverdayle came on.
In short, Knight reminded us that Sweet Home’s most valuable resource is not trees, it’s kids.
Amid the sense of exhilaration and a job well done, his point was that if Sweet Home can do this for a Christmas tree, what kind of innovation and energy could we bring to helping our kids grow up to be responsible, outstanding citizens?
That’s not a wet blanket. It’s reality. And Knight’s little prod should give us all so mething to think about: If we give as much love and effort and innovation to the children around us as we did to send that Christmas tree off, what kind of lasting effects might we enjoy?
Something to think about this holiday season.