Oh Christmas Tree
A towering Christmas tree that last stood in the entertainment district in downtown Orlando, Fla., has found a new home in Slippery Rock thanks to Slippery Rock University faculty member, student volunteers and multiple community partners.
The 35-foot, artificial Christmas tree is the main attraction for a new event called the Festival of Trees that organizers hope will draw more people to Slippery Rock during the holidays.
“Having a tree like this can be a game-changer for a community,” said Mary Jo Ross, SRU associate professor of hospitality, event management and tourism.
Due to pandemic precautions, a socially-distanced lighting ceremony took place Sunday, serving as a makeshift inauguration of the Festival of Trees, a new event with the new tree as its centerpiece.
In holiday seasons to come, the Festival of Trees will host Christmas trees, live entertainment, craft and food vendors, horse-drawn carriage rides and more, all centered around the tree in Memorial Park, located at the corner of South Main Street and East Cooper Street in Slippery Rock.
“We want to generate interest now so that next year we'll hopefully be able to have a whole month of activities that will give people another reason to come to Slippery Rock during the holidays,” Ross said. “Getting the tree here is a big deal because it can be a destination point for people to have a holiday photo taken.”Ross, a Butler native who spent most of her career as an event producer in Orlando, joined SRU's faculty in 2019. She acquired the tree 2015 to use for an event she organized at the time.Ross decided to donate the tree, consisting of metal hoops and accompanying decorations, to Slippery Rock Development, a nonprofit community organization that also organizes the community's annual VillageFest.The Butler County Tourism and Convention Bureau provided a $22,500 loan to add LED lighting on the 158 branches and to have it transported to Slippery Rock on a box truck. Ross estimates the value of the tree, with recent upgrades, at $80,000.Slippery Rock Borough Council accepted the donation on behalf of Slippery Rock Development and the borough will store the tree in the offseason.“We didn't want to lose the opportunity for this fantastic gift that we're hoping draws people into Slippery Rock during the holiday season,” said Tom McPherson, executive director of Slippery Rock Development. “The tree looks really nice in the center of the park, and you can see it coming up and down Main Street.”SRU student volunteers are soliciting sponsors to help raise funds that will pay for the Festival of Trees expenses.Proceeds will be split between Slippery Rock community partners and an SRU Foundation fund for the Hospitality, Event Management and Tourism Department that supports student scholarships, travel expenses and conference and membership fees for professional organizations.“We're all planning to work in the hospitality industry and this is a hospitality event, so through this we can see firsthand what goes into event planning,” said Amanda Herr, a junior resort recreation and hospitality management major from Wexford.Herr said the student volunteers have also gained valuable experience from organizing the event.“There are hiccups throughout the process, especially now with COVID-19,” she said. “We wanted people to attend the lighting ceremony but we had to have a Plan B. This is a prime example of how event planners have to be ready to adapt.”Ross said many students have been involved with the project, from designing logos to the manual labor of putting the tree together. She said it shows the full spectrum of what is put into event planning.“You can't teach event production on Zoom,” Ross said. “When it comes to planning an event, it's all about rolling with the punches, and the challenges with COVID is an example that these students are learning from.”The Nov. 29 lighting ceremony featured remarks by Slippery Rock Mayor Jondavid Longo and Jack Cohen, tourism bureau president.“The tree is the focal point that we can build a holiday experience around,” Ross said. “I hope we can also use this as an opportunity to further build relationships with the borough, Slippery Rock Development and the community, while getting our students involved in the development and execution of events.”Justin Zackal is a communication specialist for Slippery Rock University.
