In the days since Orillia’s ignominious Christmas tree lighting fiasco made it onto The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, two local women have decided to cast a positive light on the event.
Anitta Hamming and Leslie Fournier, who run Creative Nomad Studios and Streets Alive, respectively, are turning last week’s tree trunk lighting into a chance to help out local non-profits.
On its website, Creative Nomad Studios has launched a line of merchandise — including sweaters, t-shirts, and coffee mugs — with the theme, ‘Lit Happens,’ featuring photos of Fred’s tree in front of the Orillia Opera House with its trunk lit up.
“We decided that it would just be fun to embrace this whole tree thing and use it to you know, lift up the community,” Hamming told OrilliaMatters. “We have so much attention on this right now, and I think it's great to turn that negative into a positive.”
All proceeds from merchandise sales will go to local charities, including the Lighthouse and Sharing Place — and perhaps others, she said.
“That’s our campaign — Lit Happens — and we have some Lit Happens swag on the Creative Nomad website, and proceeds from it will go to … organizations that have heightened needs at this time of year,” she said.
Hamming said she has even sent some merchandise to Jimmy Fallon, the man who made the local tree lighting mishap known internationally.
“We have sent Jimmy Fallon a hoodie, a t-shirt and two mugs, and I hope to see the mugs sitting on his desk, one for him and one for his guest, sometime in the near future,” she said. “I just think that would be so cool.”
Fournier is adapting the The Merry Streets Alive Christmas campaign to raise funds for Couchiching Conservancy, in honour of Fred Noakes, the local naturalist who pushed to have the Christmas tree planted downtown as opposed to cutting one down every year.
Traditionally, local artists painted ornaments to be given out to the community through the campaign, but the ornaments will feature artwork of Fred’s tree this year, and will be available to the public for a nominal donation to the Couchiching Conservancy.
“If you look at the history of the tree, it ended up there because Fred Noakes convinced the city to plant an actual tree for Christmas lighting instead of cutting down a tree each year,” Fournier said. “He was a real conservationist and nature lover.”
On Dec. 16-17, the ornaments will be available at Creative Nomad Studios, where a local photographer will take pictures of community members with their new Fred’s tree ornaments.
“I think this is a golden opportunity for Orillia to turn something that was a perceived negative into a huge positive, and if we can get some community building happening, and if we can give back to the community to charitable organizations, then why not jump on this?” Fournier said.
In the interim, Fournier said she also encourages the community to donate to Couchiching Conservancy through their website.