Around 90 trees are on display for the public to admire at the Allen County Museum as part of their annual Christmas Tree Festival.
The event is put on by the museum, the Allen County Historical Society, the Church Women United of Lima, and the Johnny Appleseed Metropolitan Park District. It's back after taking last year off due to the pandemic, and organizers are thrilled to see people coming back in and enjoying what has been a tradition for the last nearly five decades.
"It was very much missed last year, and it really starts off the holiday season for a lot of people, so we’re glad to be back," said Donna Collins, Christmas Tree Festival chairperson.
"We’ve been anticipating this for several months, planning things together as a committee, so it’s nice to just have people wandering through the museum," said Amy Craft, Allen County Museum director. "We’ve increased our attendance overall during the summer, but but it’s really nice to have this community event come back together and actually have people excited for it."
A lot of familiar staples of the event have returned, like the talking Christmas tree, a live reading of the Polar Express on Friday evening, and the fingerprint plaques, but there are a few things that did have to change for the event this year.
"This year because we don’t have live entertainment, so we have taped music throughout the museum, and new team members that we have the Children’s Garden Master Gardeners, and they’re taking over the Gifts of the Earth booth," said Collins.
Staff ask that people keep social distancing in mind, and strongly recommend that visitors wear a mask while at the museum.
The museum will be open on Thursday from 10 am - 5 pm; Friday from 10 am - 8 pm; Saturday from 10 am - 5 pm; and Sunday from 12 pm - 5 pm.
