Tree Lighting, Fire Truck Parade

The annual lighting of the tree that stands in the median at Wildwood and Columbus in Rio Dell will again take place on the first Saturday of December – Dec. 4 this year – at dusk. Heading up the festivities will be a fire truck parade starting at 5 p.m. bringing Santa to town.

Refreshments, music and more will be on offer. The Community Resource Center will be handing out goody bags, and Wildwood will be lit up, as it is each year, with decorations purchased by the chamber with donations from the City of Rio Dell, businesses, agricultural producers, and individuals supporting the goal of expanding civic pride, and creating a destination for those wanting to enjoy holiday lighting displays. This year, two area growers, Rumen Sutsov and Yama Schafer, donated a total of $3,000 used to purchase additional lighting for the community display.

The tree is again donated by Humboldt Redwood Company. Sunbelt Rentals donated use of the lift again this year as it has in the past, for use installing the lighting, and hours of work was volunteered to wrap the trees in Memorial Park, put decorations on poles throughout downtown, string decorations across Wildwood, and set out the cut-outs depicting holiday themes on the median and city hall lawn, among other tasks.

So start the season right, among friends and neighbors – come enjoy the atmosphere and festivities downtown, where all the lights are bright. The fire department will ride again on Christmas Eve, as is traditional, when members will hand out candy canes throughout the community.