The Erie Downtown Partnership (EDP) has partnered with the Perry Square Alliance to help invest more into the holiday decorations in Perry Square for the annual Downtown d’Lights event.
The Perry Square Alliance (PSA) has secured a grant for an artificial holiday tree from the Erie Community Foundation as part of the PSA’s larger plan to increase infrastructure and elevate events held in Perry Square.
Currently enough funds are in place to secure a sizeable tree, complete with a topper and fully lit with hundreds of colored lights.
The Erie Downtown Partnership is helping to raise the additional funds needed to grow the height of the holiday tree to 35 feet. Both the Perry Square Alliance and Erie Downtown Partnership have committed to soliciting and securing donations to enable the tree to be delivered in time for this year’s holiday season.
Erie Downtown Partnership CEO, John Buchna says, “We’ve received a lot of feedback from the community at large that they would like to see a large holiday tree in Perry Square, but the cost of purchasing a tree has prevented us from doing this sooner.”
Buchna says that while a real tree would be ideal, the cost of logistics to transport and set-up the tree year after year outweighs the benefits.
“We have spent a longtime planning alongside the Perry Square Alliance for the community to have a large-scale holiday tree featured at our Downtown d’Lights event. We researched a lot of alternatives and found that purchasing an artificial tree would give us a better return on the investment year after year, while also giving us much more flexibility as the tree can grow with the community.”
In addition to flexibility, other benefits of having a larger scale artificial tree include consistency, safety, and ease of assembly and preparation.
Perry Square Alliance President, Jeff Brinling, also states, “We partnered last year with the Erie Downtown Partnership to make Downtown d’Lights improve by adding a poinsettia banner and additional lighting for the park, along with luminaria. This year we’re excited to again partner with the EDP to further improve this holiday event with the addition of this large scale artificial tree.”
How do I donate?
Donations toward the holiday tree can be accepted via the Erie Downtown Partnership’s CARE Fund. A link to the donation site is available on both the www.icareforerie.com and www.perrysquarealliance.com web sites. Donations can also be mailed to EDP c/o CARE Fund at 140 East 5th until August 31st.
Brinling adds, “Our Perry Square CARE Team will also be present at EDP’s August 2nd Block Party in Perry Square park from 6:30 PM to 10:30 PM fundraising, and others will be able to make donations to the Perry Square Alliance through Erie Gives Day on August 14th from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM online at www.eriegives.org.
