Downtown TREE decorating

Uncertainty amongst people regarding what they are going to do for the holidays seems to be all around us, since normal traditions have mostly been wiped away, leaving the slate empty and bare. One thing that the City of Grants Pass has made sure residents can count on in 2020 is the forty-foot tall Christmas tree that is lifted into place every year in the winter season. People across the city have been overjoyed to hear that their annual tradition has stayed rightfully constant in the midst of a year where nothing has stayed unchanging.

The city enlisted Barnstormers volunteers, most of which have been working on live-streamed shows at the theatre itself. Steven Sabel, who recently starred in Barnstormers’ production of Pygmalion, ran most of the operation as the Information Coordinator of the City of Grants Pass. The Barnstormers volunteers worked diligently during the last week of November, staging the lights, ornaments, and the star, which would be placed onto the tree in the following few days.

Channel 5 News (KOBI-TV 5) interviewed Annie Sabel, Executive Director of Barnstormers, and asked how the operation was executed and how the community theatre got involved with the event to begin with. She replied, “It’s kinda fun for us to put all our artistic minds to work in a way that isn’t what we’re used to at Barnstormers with the performing arts, but it definitely requires the design element that our volunteers are really good at, so it seemed like a perfect fit.”

Unfortunately, there was not a scheduled Christmas tree lighting ceremony for people to attend, which was done to prevent large gatherings and keep people safe throughout the holidays, but the tree is lit up for the whole community to come by and observe as they please.

Thank you for all of your support for The Scroll, and hopefully you can take the time and see the hard work that our community has put into maintaining a rewarding tradition in our small city of Grants Pass.