Merry Chrochetmas!
Dec. 4—BEREA — Over the past few weeks, the corner of Chestnut and Broadway in Berea has seen the construction of a unique and, quite cozy, Christmas Tree.
A group of 38 volunteers of various backgrounds have come together to create a 12-foot tree made out of 900 handmade crochet squares.
A special tree lighting ceremony was held Friday night at 6:30 p.m., with free cookies and hot chocolate provided by Martina LaForce of Berea Kids Eat. Peg and Awl food truck was there as well.
Organizers estimate more 1,200 volunteer hours were spent on the construction of the tree.
The project began with the creation of a Facebook group called Berea Creates Together.
"All of this has been a totally grassroots effort. The tree is the work of diverse community members who have contributed hundreds of hours of work and untold yards of yarn to this collaborative art installation for the benefit of all. It truly reflects the creativity, diversity, and spirit of Berea," says Joy Gritton, a member of the Facebook group.
Construction spanned countless hours, crochet squares, and even international borders. It all began last winter as Gritton and other members of the Berea Community saw photos of a crocheted Christmas Trees across the globe. Gritton and Betsy Whaley began contacting other members of the community through Zoom in February to begin organizing, with Whalen creating the Berea Creates Together Facebook page.
"We had seen this idea a couple of years ago. There was this group in New Zealand who had done it and posted a picture of it on Facebook. We kicked around with it for awhile. During the pandemic when we were all confined, the idea kind of came into its own and we decided to try to get it organized," Betsy Whaley said.
From there, Berea Creates Together contacted other groups in England, Australia, and New Zealand to ask for advice on taking on the project.
Then the crocheting began.
The actual pattern for the squares used on the tree was designed by Berea Creates Together member Kimberly Hill.
These efforts went on through the summer. In October, a dropbox was placed outside the Berea library to collect the crocheted squares. Altogether, 30 volunteers made the actual squares for the tree — although several squares were received from a woman named Gillian Rose in Edinburgh, Scotland.
It was truly a collaborative effort, as business women in Berea Ali Blair, Katie Starzman, and Erica Chambers stepped in as well. The three women provided the site the tree was placed at on the corner of Chestnut and Broadway.
Jess Estridge of Berea Makerspace met with Gritton towards the end up October to discuss building a frame for the tree. Estridge teamed up with the Eric Keller, a local artist and head of the Makerspace's metal work, to create and install a frame for the tree that went up on Nov. 20.
After months of community engagement and work (and the help of a forklift) the tree was officially completed on Nov. 30.
"It has brought people together during a dark time. People could come out and work together or they could work from home and participate. This meant that parents with children and seniors, some of whom felt isolated from community, could participate in a community project," Gritton said. "We ignored differences and focused on our common goal of making our community a better place and creating together.Creating brings its own healing and restoration to a person."
The Crocheted Christmas Tree will remain up through New Years.
