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Last Friday, members of Trout Creek and the surrounding areas, gathered for their annual community Christmas tree lighting ceremony. Held in front of the Northern Lights building, the tree was set to light up at exactly 5:30 pm.

Despite the foggy weather, the community still came to show their support. There were about 35 people who gathered to watch the lights, eat cookies, and partake in the local holiday spirit. Liz Stender, President of the Trout Creek Community Improvement Association (TCCIA), has been leading the lighting ceremony for the last 6 years. Stender stated, “the Trout Creek Motel supplies the power for the tree. Bill and Evan are awesome, they have provided the power every year; and Northern Lights puts up the Christmas lights for us.” The cookies, hot cocoa, and coffee are provided by the volunteers of the event, and Stender noted that any leftovers are given to the seniors of the community.

Volunteers noticed that attendance was slightly down this year from last. However; that did not stop them from taking every precaution they could to keep the attendees safe. Jean Manning, Vice President of TCCIA stated, “We put up flashing event signs at each end of the event this year. Even though it’s 35, people are still going 70 in this area, and we have gone great lengths to slow people down this year.”

Along with cookies and cocoa, Santa was also at the ceremony this year; handing out candy canes and waving at the cars driving by. Mike Taylor, who took on the role of Santa, said he’s been doing this for the last three or four years. When asked what he thought of the attendance compared to last year’s attendance, Taylor stated, “I think it might be better than last year actually. Last year the rain was a big deterrent, I think the weather is a huge factor.”

Debb McNary, a TCCIA board member, was happy about the number of people who came to partake in the lighting ceremony. “We had a good amount of people show up this year, McNary said with a smile.” Once the tree was lit up, Christmas carolers started out with “Rudolph,” as everyone joined in.