By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
A towering artificial Christmas tree serving as a centerpiece of Sea Isle City’s holiday decorations was blown over and severely damaged by gusty winds from the weekend storm that locked the shore in bitter cold.
Standing more than 20 feet tall, the tree came crashing down Friday from its perch overlooking Excursion Park close to the beach. Photos and video circulating on social media showed the tree’s metal frame, ornaments and artificial branches scattered on the ground.
“It’s severely damaged. Obviously, the winds and Mother Nature did this,” city spokeswoman Katherine Custer said in an interview Saturday.
Sea Isle plans to have its holiday decorating contractor look at the tree early next week to see if it can be repaired in time for New Year’s Eve.
Traditionally, the tree serves as a sparkling backdrop for the city’s New Year’s Eve fireworks display that lights up the sky above Excursion Park and the beach, Custer noted.
“Nevertheless, we are still anticipating a very enjoyable fireworks display,” she said even if the tree isn’t repaired.
For now, the remains of the tree have been secured by the city’s Public Works Department to prevent them from blowing away while the winter storm continues to lash the shore with heavy winds and temperatures dropping into the single digits overnight.
“It’s unfortunate. But it’s one of those things that will occur when we have extreme weather,” Custer said.
Trimmed in white lights and topped by a twinkling star, the tree serves as a soaring exclamation point for Sea Isle’s elaborate display of holiday decorations throughout town.
Each year, the city caps off its Christmas parade by having Santa Claus flip a switch to light the tree.
Despite the damage done to the tree, Custer emphasized that the spirit of Christmas continues to flourish in Sea Isle.
“I don’t think it dampers anyone’s holiday spirit in Sea Isle City, because Christmas is a cherished time in our community,” she said. “I’m confident that Christmas means more to the people of Sea Isle City than just decorations.”
A number of posts on the community Facebook forum SIC Chatter expressed sadness about the fallen tree, but others reflected the town’s strong Christmas cheer.
“The town tree is down but Christmas is still in our hearts,” wrote one poster, Lisa Missigman Bianchini.
Missigman Bianchini called on local residents to “flood” the SIC Chatter Facebook page with photos of their own holiday trees to show the community’s Christmas spirit.
What followed were photo after photo of beautifully decorated Christmas trees from people’s homes. As a special tribute, one poster included a photo of the Christmas tree in Excursion Park in all of its glory, before it was blown over.
