Tour The Old Art Building’s Festival Of Lights Now Through The New Year

The lawn at the Old Art Building in Leland has been transformed into a holiday wonderland, open to the public to see on their own time.

The HollyPOP holiday market  — where the Leelanau Community Cultural Center at the Old Art Building (OAB) is transformed, indoors and out, into a vibrant shopping destination featuring local artisans — was postponed this season, but the staff and volunteers still wanted to create a special community experience that people could safely enjoy.

Explains OAB's Executive Director, Becky Ross, “Working with our friend and craftsman Scott Cain of Northport, and a team of volunteers — Amanda Johnson, Kim McManama, Nannie Maxwell, Sarah Mills, Kerry Satterwhite — we designed the Festival of Lights. Over two dozen trees were added to the front lawn.”

Then came the fun part. Community members stepped up to decorate, including a dozen artists who each interpreted one of the “12 Days of Christmas:” Heather Spooner of Ampersand Letter Lab; Barbara Burkhardt; Life & Whim's Heather Harrington and family; Maggie Mielczarek of Leland Gal; Charlotte Smith of DesignSmiths; Malcolm & Crissy Chatfield of Tug Stuff; Abby Chatfield; Jeanne Creighton; Laura Sprout, Linda Sprout, Michelle White; Sarah Mills and family; and Amanda Campo Johnson.

“It has truly been a community volunteer effort — from the creative team, to the many donors who help purchase the trees, the volunteers who strung lights, others who came to tie on the colorful ornaments,” she adds. “It was so much fun we even had a neighbor walk by who went home to get gloves and come back to help — I call that the Tom Sawyer effect.”

The Festival of Lights opened Friday with an official — but low-key — tree lighting. As a suprise that night, the shrubs lining Cedar Street were also illuminated with the word “JOY.”

Now, Ross says, “Whether just passing by or if you take the time to park and wander through, we hope the display of lights will spread joy.”