Tree-mendous Christmas Experience awarded tourism grant from city

Jasper County Historical Museum has been awarded a $2,500 Hotel-Motel Tourism Grant from the city to go towards its Tree-mendous Christmas Experience event, which outfits the entire museum with holiday decorations and more decorated Christmas trees than you can keep track of in one visit.

For the past few years, the event has proven itself a premiere holiday attraction for families. In its grant application, the museum said it attracted 1,300 visitors from 59 towns, 24 counties and 16 states in 2023. The event also encourages guests to shop downtown and visit the Holiday Light Display at Maytag Park.

In addition to providing a fun event for the holiday season, the Tree-mendous Christmas Experience is also a way from the museum to collect funding to maintain the county’s history and encourage more tourism to Newton. Support from the council was unanimous, and the museum was awarded its grant.

Council member Stacy Simbro said, “I’ve attended it several times. It’s a great event. In full transparency, my mother in-law spearheads a lot of that.”

Between the Tree-mendous Christmas Experience and the Holiday Light Display at Maytag Park, council member Randy Ervin said the city should do a better job of drawing people from out of town to visit those two events. Mayor Evelyn George recalled the past TV coverage the museum received on Christmas Day.

“It was one of the few events that was open,” George said.

The Newton Hotel-Motel Tourism Grant Program is intended to encourage the development, continuation and promotion of projects, events and other initiatives that attract visitors from outside of Newton, especially those who are likely to spend the night in local hotels or motels.

Tree-mendous Christmas Experience will be open 1-8 p.m. Saturdays and 1-4 p.m. Sunday from Nov. 30 to Dec. 29. It will also be open 1-4 p.m. Dec. 25. Group visitors are encouraged to call the museum at 641-792-9118. The museum is located at 1700 15th Ave. E. in Newton.