Nestled on the second floor of the Jasper County Courthouse are Christmas trees that carry a little extra meaning. The 4-H Festival of Trees is once again decorating the courthouse interior with trees from almost every club in the county to go along with the giant, multi-story tree shining in the rotunda.
“There are 11 clubs participating this year,” Iowa State University Extension and Outreach County Youth Coordinator Stacey Wilson said. “Clubs pick a charity or non-profit to support then pick items to either put on the tree to decorate with.”
The Monday before Thanksgiving Jasper County 4-Hers head to the courthouse to assemble their trees and see 4-H friends from across the county.
“It is a really fun night,” Wilson said. “No matter what kind of day you are having, you see all of the kids, some who haven’t seen each other since the fair, it is exciting and warms your heart.”
While some trees adorned with traditional bobbles well-known to hang from the limbs, visitors might also see toilet paper, socks, mouthwash, dog treats or baby toys as ornaments and decorations.
“When we had the animal rescue league they would use dog or cat toys,” Wilson said. “They are all so unique. There is one club that make their tree out of packages of toilet paper that they then donate to the PCM Food Pantry. Then, they wrap garland around it.”
On the Quilts of Valor tree visitors will find hand sewn ornaments and made ornaments to go along with the quilting theme.
The Festival of Trees has roots in Colfax with the first few events held at the Jasper County Fairgrounds, hosted by the fair board. On display during the Colfax Country Christmas event, horse drawn carriages used to take people from downtown to the fairgrounds to see the trees.
“It helped bring awareness to the fairgrounds because they are a little hidden back there,” Wilson said. “The trees were decorated to a theme the fair board would select.”
The 4-H clubs took over the organizing of the festival in 2004, then in the horse and carriage rides stopped in 2005, causing the attendance dwindled for the festival. The next year, Wilson asked the Jasper County Board of Supervisors if the festival could move to the courthouse and they embraced the idea and the giving theme.
“It is a good fit, the building is so pretty,” Wilson said. “We do get a lot of compliments and positive comments on the festival. We like to bring to light that 4-H is not just for farm and rural kids. There is community service involved, life skills involved, record keeping and all kinds of communication skills. This brings let the public see all of the citizenship that 4-H clubs and kids do.”
The festival runs through Dec. 28 at the courthouse. Be sure to try and make a stop before Christmas in order to see all of the decorations. Some ornaments that are related to the organization will make their way to those in need before the holiday.