Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
A 13-member volunteer committee spearheaded a campaign to bring a Hallmark-style Christmas to Worland by enlisting volunteers and donations of decorations to light up and decorate main street buildings this year. The committee also developed an adopt-a-building program for empty storefronts or businesses who needed help. Pictured here is Big Horn Federal's decor.
By KARLA POMEROY
Editor
WORLAND - A movement that began in late October from a shared meme on Facebook, ended with main street in Worland all lit up and decorated Hallmark-style.
Co-organizer Brittany Tideman said, "The original idea was not mine." She said she saw a meme shared on a local businesses group page about the ideal Christmas was to "visit a town decorated by Hallmark and drink hot cocoa." It was shared with a comment asking "Hey Worland can we make this happen?"
Tideman shared it and others shared it and soon a small committee was created in hopes of encouraging decorations and providing some cheer, especially this year, she said.
The committee piggybacked off the adopt-a-senior and adopt-a-teacher to adopt-a-building in hopes of getting some of the empty storefronts decorated. The committee then also decided to open up the "adopt-a-building" to current businesses.
"We ask a lot of them throughout the year so we wanted to be able to help them, [if they were not willing or unable to decorate on their own]," Tideman said.
Most of the empty storefronts were adopted, Tideman said, noting that permission was granted from property owners.
"I can only take credit for advertising," Tideman said, but not for the creativeness in the decorations throughout the city.
She said she saw a lot of people walking downtown after the lighting of Pioneer Square and more people wandered the area during the Christmas parade.
Tideman encourages people to go walking and check out the decorations. "They look super nice in your car but you can't see everything unless you get out and walk."
The goal was to have everything stay decorated through Christmas. Other than that there have been no rules and there was not a contest, just a committee encouraging people and businesses to do what they could to decorate Christmas.
Tideman said those who adopted a business or empty building are asked to clean up by the weekend of Jan. 9-10. She said in addition to the many businesses who decorated on their own, there were about 20 places adopted including businesses and empty buildings.
The 13-member committee had considered additional events in addition to the Christmas décor but "This happened super fast. It started Halloween weekend and we had only a month to make everything happen," Tideman said. She said they wanted to have everything decorated in time for the Pioneer Square lighting on Nov. 27.
Ideas that were discussed included a pop-up bakery and an old-fashioned toy town. For this year she said there were several reasons, No. 1 they were short on time and No. 2 with COVID they were concerned with keeping people safe and healthy and that was before numbers began spiking and before state orders tightened up restrictions.
Tideman said that hopefully with more planning and more preparation time, as well as no COVID, they hope to make this an annual event and to do more.
Tideman said none of this would have been possible without the many volunteers from individuals, businesses and organizations, along with those who donated lights and decorations and those who helped make 22 pallet trees for decorations along main street.
