When night falls during the Christmas holiday many cities and towns are seasoned with twinkling lights that seem to radiate the splash of colors seen through a kaleidoscope.
Downtown Athens has its share of sparkles, but a new project by the Athens Area Women in Construction (WIC) is bringing even more flare to the evening.
A Tinsel Trail was recently established around the Classic Center that will glitter from the lights of more than 70 Christmas trees.
And Melanie Ford, president of the WIC, a nonprofit organization based in Athens, is hoping the trail becomes a holiday tradition for the Classic City.
The Athens Area Women in Construction are sponsoring the first ever Tinsel Trail at the Classic Center in Athens.
Ford was inspired by her trips at Christmas to her hometown of Huntsville, Alabama. There a Tinsel Trail was first established almost 15 years ago. Today, the trail has about 400 decorated and lighted trees.
It is an event the city promotes. The website Huntsville.org reports the Tinsel Trail lures visitors “from dusk to midnight.”
“It’s phenomenal. It’s my favorite thing to see when I go to my dad’s house for Christmas,” Ford said.
To get the event started, Ford explained she contacted Huntsville officials, and they gladly provided information on how to stage Tinsel Trail, down to the details of how to weld and build the heavy tree stands out of steel rebar.
Businesses and organization purchase a tree, then decorate it for inclusion in the Tinsel Trail.
Two other cities have also adopted Huntsville’s plan for the trail of Christmas trees.
The members of WIC agreed to sponsor the project with a two-fold plan, according to Ford.
The event would be free to the community and proceeds would go toward a scholarship the WIC is establishing to help a girl going into the construction field.
They partnered with the Classic Center Cultural Foundation, which also sponsors a scholarship, so proceeds will be shared with that scholarship drive.
The Classic Center provides the power for the trees and the WIC, with help from local businesses that provide services and materials in the construction industry, provide the labor to build the trail.
For the first year, Ford said they were “a bit ambitious” and bought 100 trees. By the first week of December, they had sold about 70.
The trees are $300 for the right to decorate and it includes the tree stand and a sign that advertises the tree purchaser. A few people have purchased trees for their favorite nonprofit such as the Food Bank and Project Safe.
“I’m hoping it grows each year. We’re making plans to build more stands and work with the Classic City in figuring a layout,” she said.
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The WIC is a group made of female architects, engineers, contractors and construction trades people. The organization provides support for women in construction, but they also have a mission to bring their industry to young girls and women.
“Most girls don’t think about construction as a viable career for them,” Ford said, adding they reach out to those in kindergarten through 12th grades to share information on careers in construction. They have partnered with school systems through career fairs in five counties in the Athens area.
There are still some trees available in the Tinsel Trail. To reserve a remaining tree, contact the WIC at AthensAreaWIC@gmail.com.
This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Tinsel Trail in downtown Athens becomes forest of X-mas trees