Cedar City Community Spirit Shines At Holiday Tree Jubilee

OK, I know I got a bit overboard on the whole Christmas thing. Not as much as some, but still a bit outside of the norm. So, this time of year I tend to get all anticipatory of things to come. No, not the gifts under the tree, but the cheerfulness that tends to become more prevalent during the season. As I said on the air this morning, we tend to “turn outwards” for at least awhile.

So, I was pleasantly surprised when a couple of our guests this morning were not here strictly to promote a business, even though this was a sponsored program. Curt Allred was here for the ERA Realty program, and we did talk a bit about the local market.

But, Curt also brought with him Kara Allred, his wife, and Laura Albrecht, and they are coordinating the efforts for the upcoming Holiday Tree Jubilee that will begin on Saturday, November 30^th at the Heritage Theater.

Albrecht has been with the Jubilee since it started and she gave us a little history of the event. “Back in the beginning, I owned the barn at Cedar Meadows and event venue and I just wanted an opportunity to bring the community together. So this event was born out of two things. First, was that desire just to gather with our friends and neighbors. And then the second was to serve the community at Christmas time,” Albrecht said and continued, “and then it's kind of evolved and changed and grown and now it's a huge event. We partner with the city (and) their downtown lighting event is the kickoff for the Holiday Tree Jubilee.” This will be the seventh year for the Holiday Jubilee of Trees.

The downtown lighting event goes for a good part of the afternoon and features a Christmas market, carriage rides, musical performances and culminates with Santa arriving to light the downtown area. After Santa arrives in downtown Cedar City this year, he will lead everyone over to the Heritage Theater, where you will see 60 Christmas trees, elegantly decorated by local businesses.

Those trees will be won by people purchasing tickets for a drawing, and many of the trees have fabulous prizes sure to complement the holiday season, and several businesses will also be donating gift baskets sure to delight those who win them.

Along with the trees, Santa will continue to be present (get it, present) and you can have pictures taken with the master of the North Pole. There will also be non-stop hot cocoa available to keep you warm.

There is a suggested donation for the picture, and there is a price to buy the tickets for the drawings, but all the proceeds go to help those in need in our community. Albrecht told us some of those who will be helped by the proceeds of the Holiday Tree Jubilee. “Some that we really focus on are the Shop With a Cop program which is 100% local, kids and families. We also help the homeless and at risk teens, which is a bigger program than people might think. We also work with the Care and Share and provide them with food and funding for for what they have going on there.” And there are other community groups who will also receive funding.

All in all, it's a fantastic way to usher in the holiday season, help out others, oh and the hot cocoa at the jubilee is free. I'm in.

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You can find out more about the Holiday Tree Jubilee on their Facebook page, and you can hear our entire conversation with Laura Albrecht and Kara Allred in the podcast below.