Each year, on the Thursday after Thanksgiving, Columbians venture out to The Village of Cherry Hill to take part in the celebration of the Cherry Hill Holiday Festival. They marvel at the work done by Will Treelighter (a.k.a. Randy Fletcher), the creator of The Magic Tree.
Going on its fifth year, the festival’s intent isn’t just to simply accentuate the Magic Tree, but also benefit The Village, Kara Kippenberger, owner of Focus on Health Chiropractic, located in Cherry Hill said.
“I think it’s very important for us to show that we’re throwing the holiday festival, not just to benefit the businesses, but because we want people to see the beauty of The Magic Tree,” Kippenberger said. “But at the same time, Cherry Hill is kind of out of most people’s way, so no one really thinks about it a lot, but I think that having the Magic Tree located there makes it kind of an iconic place. Like whenever I talk about Cherry Hill no one knows what I’m talking about, but when I ask them where the Magic Tree is they all of a sudden know where I’m talking about.”
Although the main point of the celebration revolves around The Magic Tree, there is also a philanthropic aspect to the festival.
“We try to have a charity to benefit from the festival each year. Last year we benefited the Columbia Food Bank and asked them to put out donation bins, and that didn’t really work that well since, as anyone can imagine, not many people remember to bring out cans of food when they are going out with their families. We’ve learned that a monetary donation is a much better way to go,” Kippenberger said. “This year, we were thinking about who would be a good charity or business to benefit, and someone suggested Great Circle, which runs Boys and Girls Town here in Columbia … We’re gonna be raffling off a picture of the Magic Tree, and all of the proceeds will be going to Great Circle.”
The tree lighting always being the main event of the Festival, The Magic Tree acts as a sort of beacon to those who live in the village, RBHS senior and resident of Cherry Hill Village Brian Jost said.
“The Magic Tree has been located in Cherry Hill since I’ve lived here, and every year when they light it up, I can tell it makes something different. I can’t really put my finger on it, but I’ve noticed throughout the years, that whenever the tree goes up that people get into the spirit of the holidays, almost like it’s clockwork actually,” Jost said. “I think that the tree acts as something that everyone enjoys. It’s just aesthetically pleasing, and I think that, that really makes people remember just how beautiful something can be.”
Jost said the Holiday Festival is a way for more people to find out about the Magic Tree and be a part of its splendor, but at the same time, he feels the Festival takes something away from the experience.
“I think that it’s clear that the Holiday Festival has definitely helped spread the word of the magic tree, and that is very important. If more people find out about The Magic Tree, the more good it can do through just being there,” Jost said. “But the Festival, although it’s supposed to be about celebrating the tree, kind of takes away from the experience of the tree and shifts it more towards the other attractions, like the bounce house and horse rides. The festival shouldn’t be about that, I think that it should be about the tree and only the tree.”
Fletcher agrees with Jost in the sense that the Holiday Festival has caused a change, but he believes that it is a small price to pay in exchange for the pedestal the tree is put on while located in Cherry Hill.
“There is a stronger commercial aura to it now with the Holiday Festival. It kind of goes with the territory of being in a commercial park, which is managed by the Cherry Hill business association. I’m just glad and grateful that the tree is in a place that can accommodate lots and lots of people. Commercial, privately owned places are the only alternative to public parks, and I want to stay away from a place where the city can regulate and have control over the tree,” Fletcher said. “It’s definitely different from when it was all in my yard, people would come out and look at the tree and it would be quiet and it was more of a contemplative sort of experience, which ideally is what I would like people to be able to do, is to contemplate the big ideas in life as they look at the magic tree, and so I suppose there’s a slight shift or compromise there, but people are going to do what they want, and they should feel free to think of The Magic Tree however they wish…Those who want to contemplate the bigger things in life, can do that, but there’s no harm in fun.”