Great job Chamber on ringing in the holiday season
Star News
Editorials
About this time of year, the nostalgia parade starts to roll out. It is made up primarily of Medford expatriates coming back for holiday visits and reminiscing with old photos and stories about how much bigger and brighter things were “back in the day.”
There is little doubt that the downtown is different than it was a generation ago. This has more to do with demographics and changing shopping patterns than it does with anyone turning their back on the holidays or not sharing in the Christmas spirit.
Communities change over time and with those changes, traditions must change as well. This may mean some traditions fade away, while others get reborn.
For decades, the Medford Area Chamber of Commerce has held a lighting of the lights event on the Friday after Thanksgiving in Medford. The event has always served as a sort of symbolic start to the holiday season in the community and includes visits with Santa Claus and the explosion of lights and color as Christmas displays were lit.
As with many other things during the pandemic, Chamber of Commerce staff last year reworked the event to safely celebrate the season. Rather than simply going back to the old ways of doing things, when Chamber staff began planning the event this year, they looked to see how they could make it better.
The event that Chamber president Sue Emmerich and her crew put together exceeded all expectations. Despite it being one of the coldest nights so far this winter season, the faces of those in the park were shiny and bright with smiles as youngsters visited with Santa by the park shelter fireplace, drew pictures under the cascading lights, cuddled with animals in the live nativity, or warmed themselves by the bonfire as they listened to the live music being performed by local choirs.
The Holiday Magic lights were lit in the park displays put up by service clubs and organizations including Kiwanis, Rotary, Knights of Columbus and Taylor County Farm Bureau and others. Capping off the event was an impressive fireworks display by Taylor County’s own Big Daddy’s Fireworks.
Faced with the challenges of blending old and new traditions, the staff and volunteers at the Medford Area Chamber of Commerce literally did a bang up job. Throughout the unique challenges of recent years, the Chamber’s staff has demonstrated their ability to continue working to promote Medford area businesses and the community to the highest level. The Chamber of Commerce staff does not shy away from the challenge of reinventing events and in the process helping to building memories that will leave people talking for years about how Medford really knows how to bring in the holiday season.
