Between the quality time spent with loved ones, the sound of Christmas songs everywhere you go and the excitement of picking out the perfect presents for everyone on your list, there’s hardly anything that brings us more cheer.

And we can’t forget the festive Christmas decorations adorning the street poles, shop awnings and Market Street in downtown Lewistown. Hall and her friends created Deck the Downtown, whose goal is to make everything merry and bright.

“We are having so much fun and can really feel the excitement and support from the community,” said Hall, who lives in Lewistown. “‘Thank you’ could seriously never be enough. We are definitely feeling the love.”

Over the next few days, more lights and decorations will be going up. They hope to have the downtown decorated in time for this year’s 27th Annual Festival of Ice, which is scheduled for Thursday and Friday in Lewistown.

Photo courtesy of DECK THE DOWNTOWN
The six women who formed Deck the Downtown are Jessica Specht (from left), Britney Hall, Caitlyn Specht, Becky Stringfellow, Natali Foltz and Olivia Frey.

“We are hoping the lights will be shining bright for you to see,” Hall explained. “We are extremely grateful to the downtown businesses and the Lewistown Borough for helping us make this happen.

“Please keep spreading the word about this big dream we have for our town,” Hall added. “Each year, it will continue to get more and more magical, we know it.”

During its heyday, downtown Lewistown certainly had a festive feel with its Christmas holiday swag. Garland hung from the poles as crowds flocked in and out of the downtown shops. Many retailers used to decorate their windows for the many shoppers to see.

The idea for decorating the downtown came up during a Halloween Trunk or Treat event as committee member Becky Stringfellow approached Hall about the project. Another committee member, Natali Foltz, had also mentioned to Hall about how she would love for the town to be adorned with decorations for Christmas.

At first, Hall, who has planned and hosted a variety of events in Mifflin County over the years, thought it would be too much work for one person to handle. She became more receptive when she realized that there was a group of six moms willing to help.

Photo courtesy of DECK THE DOWNTOWN
Jessica Specht (from left), Barb Lepley, Harper Specht and Caitlyn Specht, of Deck the Downtown, make giant snowflakes out of artificial trees.

“They talked me into it, and we recruited a couple of the other ladies, who were immediately on board,” Hall recalled. “After talking with Becky and Natali about this idea, I just couldn’t get it out of my head.”

Deck the Downtown was formed, adding Jessica Specht, Caitlyn Specht and Olivia Frey. All six are from Lewistown.

The motherly instincts in the group also kicked in.

“As moms, we want a town that our kids can look forward to visiting year after year, even as adults with their own families,” Hall explained. “We want them to experience the magic of Lewistown.”

After holding some meetings to come up with a game plan for decorating the downtown, the group started making decorations.

Photo courtesy of DECK THE DOWNTOWN
Deck the Downtown volunteers Josh Specht (from left), Cory Hall, Natali Foltz, Todd Lepley, Becky Stringfellow and Cody Specht decorate a tree along Market Street in Lewistown.

To date, they’ve made nine giant snowflakes that have been hung on the black light posts along Market Street. Each one was constructed from artificial Christmas trees that were deconstructed and attached to a fiberglass backing. Lights and ornaments were added as well to make each one sparkle.

Hall credits her mom, Barb Lepley, of McClure, with coming up with the idea of the snowflakes and taking the reins on a plan for getting them made.

The borough also helped out by hanging strings of warm white lights on each of the 32 trees on Monument Square. Deck the Downtown also hung garlands and lights from several of the canopies of businesses along Market Street.

They are also hoping to have store windows painted for the holidays.

“We’re encouraging the downtown businesses to decorate their windows, some of them have already started,” Hall said. “We’re definitely feeling the excitement and support from the community. We hope to make it bigger and better every year. There have been so many people who have helped us. It has been a really amazing thing to see the community rally together behind us.”

Collectively, Hall said the group has invested about 60 to 80 hours so far with the project. “We got the green light from the borough council and started all this within the last month,” she added. “Next year, we want to plan more and be prepared. This year, it was kind of like putting the pedal to the metal.”

Hall said Deck the Downtown didn’t have a budget for any of its decorations; however, there have been businesses and community members that have donated to the cause. The group is still accepting monetary donations at any MCS Bank as well as through Venmo @DeckThe-Downtown. Funds will be used to purchase decorations for this year or future years.

They are also accepting donations, such as warm white lights, white Christmas trees, storage totes, and green garlands.

Deck the Downtown has also set up a registry on Amazon.com and has a wish list at Walmart.com.

“We have big dreams, but we have to keep them within reason,” Hall said. “Thankfully, the community is really supporting us. This all might seem so simple to people, but there’s just something about Christmas decorations that brings people joy and puts smiles on their faces. That is our main goal.”

Deck the Downtown also plans to make an appearance at the Festival of Ice with a Santa’s Workshop and various other activities for kids.

Santa’s Workshop will offer all sorts of gifts that kids can buy for their loved ones – mostly for $2 – and will have a special guest, Santa Claus. There will also be a Santa’s mailbox, made and donated by Larry Winn and his students at the Mifflin County Academy for Science and Technology, for kids on the nice and naughty lists to send their letters to Santa.

Deck the Downtown also plans to hold a coloring contest, giving kids printed coloring pages to take home and enter, as well as a Christmas Ornament Hunt with ornaments filled with wooden tokens crafted by the Mifflin County High School Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) program. If found, the tokens can be redeemed for a prize.

“We wanted to come up with extra fun things for kids,” Hall said.

For more information, visit the Deck the Downtown page on Facebook.