Prior to the pandemic, a common sight in East Trail this time of year was lights flooding Butler Park.
“No, there were no baseball games being held, it was the long-standing Kiwanis tradition of selling Christmas trees,” notes Trail archivist, Addison Oberg. “In 1949, Kiwanis started their annual Christmas tree sale and have been doing it ever since.”
The past two years, Trail Kiwanis has housed their Christmas tree sale in the old Zellers store at Waneta Plaza. Distributing Christmas tree proceeds, however, remains the same — all money raised is directed back into charities, local causes and bursaries for graduating students.
The Kiwanis Club of Trail started in 1945, so their seasonal fundraiser has been with them almost from the beginning.
”If you celebrated Christmas and grew up in Trail, at one time or another you have been to Butler Park to pick out the best Christmas tree you could find,” Oberg adds. “Lucky for us, the Kiwanis is never short on lovely, holiday-worthy trees.”