By NewsLine Staff
mail@floridanewsline.com
The Mandarin Community Club will light up the night on Friday, Dec. 4, at the first annual Mandarin Christmas Tree Lighting. The event at the Mandarin Community Club, 12447 Mandarin Road, will feature a brief outdoor, socially distanced “drive-in” viewing of the towering 21-foot tree as the switch is thrown on hundreds of tree lights. Gates open at 6 p.m. for a view of the lighting at 6:30 p.m. Guests are asked to stay inside or near their vehicles to observe safety and social distance protocols. The lighting event can also be viewed online.
The 21-foot Fraser Fir beauty was located in North Carolina, selected and shipped with the acquisition help of Liberty Landscaping at Trads. The tree will provide holiday spectacle nightly from Dec. 4 through the New Year in the heart of the old Mandarin Village. Seasonal decorations at landmarks along Mandarin Road will be repeated again this year as part of the club’s project and the community is urged to “Bring on the Light” with luminaries in their neighborhoods and at their homes. All of Mandarin is encouraged to participate in luminaria on Dec. 4 to kick off the holiday season.
Mandarin Community Club President Susie Scott said, “It’s the start of a tradition and a wonderful opportunity for community unity. We need it right now. Other Jacksonville communities and neighborhoods are known for holiday traditions and events, and the club’s board agreed 2020 is the year to start a Mandarin tradition.”
Club board member Brett Nolan suggested the tree lighting as part of an active holiday weekend that would normally include the Winter Celebration at the Walter Jones Historic Park (which will not be held this year) and the Julington Creek Boat Parade (which will be held on Saturday, Dec. 5 beginning at 7 p.m.) As the force behind the club’s seasonal decorations up and down Mandarin Road, Nolan agreed to spearhead the search for the perfect tree for the club’s first tree event .
Club representatives admit the club’s treasury has suffered this year with major financial losses due to the pandemic. In September, board members voted to personally sponsor the Tree Lighting event and donations have made the event and holiday decorations possible along Mandarin Road.
“Every board member stepped up to personally support the purchase of a large fresh outdoor tree and the other costs associated with this first annual tree lighting,” said Scott. More than one anonymous donor also stepped forward.
Photo courtesy Mandarin Community Club
This 21-foot Frasier Fir will be lit in a new Mandarin tradition on Dec. 4.
