It takes a few weeks of work to get St. Albert dressed up for the holiday season.
The focus is mostly on the downtown Perron District, where the annual light-up festival helps kick off Christmas celebrations.
But the work that goes in to making sure St. Albert takes on a festive air during this time of year begins awhile before the ceremonial switch-flick that lights up the big outdoor Christmas tree at the community hall.
Kevin Veenstra, an arborist with the city’s public works department, said the city’s seasonal dĂ©cor – which includes its snowflake light standards and lots of lights for the city’s downtown trees – evolved from an effort led by the downtown business association in the 1980s after a Perron Street overhaul and the opening of St. Albert Place.
The association purchased what Veenstra described as a massive amount of lights for all the boulevard trees. The trees of the botanical arts city’s downtown still get lit up, though with more modern lights these days.
It takes public works about three weeks to take their aerial lift trucks around to get all the lights in the trees, including the big one outside the community hall.
“That tree alone is 150 strings,” Veenstra said, noting more than 100 more strings were bought by some of the Snowflake Festival’s sponsors for that tree this year to add some “wow” factor.
But even some of the smaller boulevard trees will shine in the night.
“Each tree gets four to six strings, and as trees get bigger we add,” Veenstra said.
The light standards were switched to snowflakes back in 2009, updating tinsel candles and bells that were in use for a few decades.
While the meteorite star ornament no longer adorns the big community hall tree, Veenstra said it still gets a place of honour on a nice tree near the courthouse.
St. Albert Place’s decorations are the domain of staff for that building. There’s traditionally a 20-foot Christmas tree in the lobby.
They decorate city hall inside and out, with a big wreath and garlands outside, and garlands galore inside. Over the years the festive trimmings have grown.
“This year we’ve got an additional seven-foot tree as well,” said Chris Richards, manager of assets management. “It’s a work in progress. This year is the additional seven-foot tree and one more garland, next year, budget permitting, we’re adding more decorations as each year goes by.”
City staff also get into the act, ensuring the public parts of their offices are decorated.
“Our main areas, all the staff decorate their areas,” Richards said. “They get into the spirit as well.”
The St. Albert Place trees, garlands and other decorations take two staff members about four days to put up, Richards said.
“Big 20-foot trees, they’re not easy,” Richards said.
Richards said the outside St. Albert Place lights – which have been in place for years, though they were recently upgraded to LED bulbs – are his favourite.
“I like the lights, I like the way the perimeter of the building is lit up at night,” he said.
