Prince George, B.C. – The ‘Holiday Tree’ in Cottonwood Island Park  is once again  adorned in decorations,  this time to mark  Christmas,  and to  note the events  of 2016.

The tree,   which  has been decorated  to mark special occasions, stands next to the original   holiday tree which was vandalized last month, stripped of its branches.  Help from friends  saw a new  tree planted next to the original  and the decorating  tradition  continues.

On the  remains of the former tree  is a special note,  which  shares photos of  all  the  decorations  that had been  placed on the original tree throughout  2016  and this message:

“2016 has  gone by quickly.  It has  given us many good memories and some that we will struggle to forget as the new year roars into view.   This park and the trails that we walk almost every day, is filled with the wonder that comes with living in Prince George.  We enjoy walking the trails with our friends, looking for the carvings etched into the bark of the Cottonwood trees by Elmer Gunderson and the little ‘Sprite Villages’ that appeared nestled  amongst the roots of the towering trees.  The kindness of our citizens as they held out a hand of bird seed for  visiting chick-a-dee or offer a squirrel a peanut, brought  a smile to passers-by and a rekindling of faith in humankind.  Prince George is a warm and caring city as was also evidenced by the replacement of ‘the’ tree.  It warms our hearts to know that  so many  cared about a little decorated tree tucked off the trail waiting to bring a smile to the faces of the children and…yes…to adults as well.  Words of encouragement given to us at the times when we were caught red handed decorating or mourning over  decorations that were lost are stored away in our hearts as ‘warm fuzzies’.  Thank you Prince George for allowing us to be part of your lives and I hope bring a smile to a maybe ‘not-so’-nice’ day.  Moving forward into 2017, it is our wish that everyone is able to turn their lemons into lemonade.  Thank you Prince George – You Rock!!”

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