MONROE — Main Street Monroe will officially be kicking the holidays into high gear with its decorations being installed throughout the district this upcoming week when the large tree on the southeast corner of the courthouse lawn is lighted.
Installation of the lights was handled by Coplien Painting. City staff, coordinated by Josh Trame with the Parks & Rec Department, recently finished putting up 32 commercial Christmas decorations owned and maintained by Main Street. They are also installing hundreds of yards of garland, lights, and nearly 50 wreaths also owned by Main Street.
“Main Street has been entrusted to handle this and it’s something we take seriously, enjoy, and have a lot of pride in,” Jordan Nordby, Main Street’s Executive Director stated.
This year marks a bit of a milestone in a multi-year campaign effort Main Street set up in 2017 to address long term sustainability.
“There’s still a good amount of volunteer work every year, but prior to us starting this campaign, we had about eight to 10 volunteers donating nearly 100 hours to get the old decorations ready each season. We’ve been able to reduce that greatly while expanding the decorations through more of the district,” Nordby said.
Since the campaign started, excluding volunteer time, Main Street has invested over $20,000. Funds have largely been provided through different grants, including Alliant Energy and The Monroe Fund of the Community Foundation of Southern Wisconsin; which covered this year’s decorations. Additionally, Main Street’s own Design Committee has a long term capital replacement fund in place. The committee is co-chaired by John and Donna Glynn.
The commercial decorations are made in the United States and will be the same design: a green tree with a gold star at the top. Lights on the four corners of the square are in the shape of shooting stars. Nordby notes that last year’s new decorations were installed beyond the square, while this year the new pieces will continue filling in spaces.
“This is really a magical time of year, and this year, especially, it feels like we all need a bit more of it. Whether you’re downtown to shop or to eat or just take a stroll, we really think everyone will enjoy the lights and the efforts behind it. They’re not what you see in every city,” Nordby said.
For Main Street, it is one effort out of many as it focuses on the crucial Christmas period. Winter pots were installed on Nov. 13. That undertaking included volunteers from GFWC Monroe Woman’s Club, Oxenrider, Lion’s Club, as well as Main Street. Main Street will also be lighting the courthouse tree with Coplien Painting installing those lights, and it recently unveiled its seasonal retail promotion which runs through the end of the year, a photo op on the west side of courthouse, and hosted the Lighted Christmas Parade on Dec. 3. The parade was sponsored by Country Financial — Agent Chelsea White.
Main Street Monroe, Inc. is celebrating its 16th year handling community development in the downtown district and is a 501(c)3 volunteer driven not for profit. Complete details may be found at www.mainstreetmonroe.org or by calling 608.328.4023.
