Flakes ready to fly in Mondovi
by Beth Kraft
There will be snow for Christmas in Mondovi—at least in the form of new, light-up snowflakes that will soon cling to downtown lampposts.
Following fundraising efforts over the past three years to obtain new Christmas decorations for downtown Mondovi, the Mondovi Women’s Business Network is close to realizing its goal.
The group of local businesswomen recently purchased 14 LED snowflakes, four large and 10 small, that will be installed downtown and at the city’s four-corners area to light up the street during the upcoming holiday season.
The new lights arrived a little over a month ago, and MWBN members are a little like kids anticipating the magic of Christmastime.
“I’m so excited to see everything all lit up,” said Lori Larson, owner of Petal Pushers Floral & Gifts.
Brenda Stanford, co-owner of Shear Trends, said she was also looking forward to the decorations going up to see if their purchases would create the effect the group envisioned.
Yet obtaining new holiday gear to replace worn Christmas items that had outfitted downtown Mondovi for over 30 years was no easy task. Each of the snowflakes and banners cost between $100-$300 apiece, turning fundraising efforts into a long-term commitment by MWBN members.
Getting the project completed so quickly was made possible by donations from the community, including a large contribution from the Women’s Holiday Luncheon Committee in addition to funds from many local businesses and individuals.
The group is currently working to place plaques with the names of project donors on each streetlight post to recognize their generous contributions.
Although there are currently enough snowflakes to cover the Eau Claire Street area, the group would like to purchase eight more to achieve their original goal.
Several of the city’s old decorations, including Christmas trees, candy canes and wreathes, were even revamped with new lights and other materials to give them new life in time for this year’s holiday season, set to include the MWBN’s annual “Small Town Christmas” parade set for Saturday evening, Dec. 6.
Preliminary decoration plans had also called for the purchase of several Christmas-themed banners to replace the snappy blue Mondovi banners during the holiday season. Yet that idea was scrapped because MWBN members thought the royal blue banners, which went up along Eau Claire St. last spring, looked so sharp.
Adding more of those banners to extend them beyond the downtown area is the group’s ongoing goal in addition to buying those last few snowflakes.
To help bolster the upcoming “Small Town Christmas” celebration, MWBN members say they are looking for area individuals interested in helping organize the light parade and ideas for any other event activities.
