CARBONDALE, Pa. — A trip through Carbondale's Tinsel Trail in Memorial Park along Main Street will show you many interpretations of the Christmas tree, for instance, a firefighter's helmet instead of a star.
"Carl, one of our firefighters, that's actually the first helmet he had when he started here," said Carbondale firefighter P.J. Fortuner.
The Mountain View Garden Club was, naturally, drawn to decorate with things that grow.
"This year, we tried to go with a natural theme. We tried to look at what's in our gardens and what might work to help us decorate the tree," said club member Janelle Zigon.
All 54 trees on the trail sport a different theme inspired by the organization that sponsors each one. In their own unique way, each inspires some holiday spirit.
"'We have this tree that we're doing today, and our student council also put up a tree. Our cafeteria staff put up a tree, so it's just bringing back community spirit and charger pride," said Michele Caviston from Carbondale Area High School. "We just want to bring back the holiday spirit for the kids. They really missed out on a lot the last two years."
Michele Bannon is part of the team that created the Tinsel Trail four years ago. It's quadrupled in size over that time.
"There's never a time that this community doesn't make something better than I've even imagined, and that's what they did with this. It's everybody; it's businesses, the school, individuals. It's great how everybody comes back together," Bannon said.
The sponsorship fee for the trees is collected and given to a charitable organization after the holiday season.
"What we try to do is, at the beginning of the new year, see what's going on and who needs the funds the most. And at that point, we donate the money back to them," Bannon said.
The city of Carbondale will flip the switch on the 2021 Tinsel Trail in a special ceremony on Wednesday Night.
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