'Art doesn't surrender' Elyria Arts Council's annual Creative Christmas Tree Contest goes on

The scorched earth left behind by the metaphorical brushfire that has been 2020 finds the occasional flower of hope in the form of artistic expression. As bad as the pandemic has been, and it's been horrific, the Elyria Arts Council continues to provide an outlet to local artists desperately seeking normalcy during abnormal times. The latest example of the Broad Street venue, which is closed due to COVID-19, coming through for the community is its sixth annual Creative Christmas Tree Contest. "When the pandemic flared in March, we knew two things — this would be a year unlike any other and the power of art to heal and comfort would be needed more than ever," Elyria Arts Council founder Clint Rohrbacher said. "Our whole year has been finding ways to stay connected and encourage creativity. The annual Christmas Tree Contest has become such a communal and interactive tradition. We were afraid it may be a no-go this year, but art doesn't surrender." The Elyria Arts Council's popular Creative Christmas Tree Contest has annually challenged local artists to use their unique talents to create their own holiday tree out of anything they want. Previous trees have been made out of bark and sea salt, dried avocado skins with date pits and blue up-cycled water bottles, which were manipulated with heat to look like glass. In a normal year, the trees are displayed at Elyria Arts Council and voted on by the community — through monetary donations for each tree — during a festive open house event. Winning artists receive a ribbon. The fundraiser supports the nonprofit's children's programming and general operations. This year, the community is encouraged to vote and donate via Paypal (elyriaartscouncil@gmail.com) or by mailing a check to The Elyria Arts Council, 336 E. Broad St. The person behind the Creative Christmas Tree Contest is Elyria Arts Council Children's Program Director and Office Manager Anne Jesse. "The only thing I was concerned about is that we may not have enough tree entries," Jesse said. "While we usually get around 20, this year have 13. I was really happy that not only were we able to pull it off but we had six student entries. We don't usually have that many kids. "The trees are creatively arranged in the front windows of the Arts Council. I can tell you we used every inch of space. I also posted a really detailed video of our trees on Facebook. Also, people can come and take a peek through our front windows." This year's entries continue the creative streak with Jesse's favorite being a tree created out of green and blue plastic water bottles adorned with buttons and beads. "We have a lot of modern art trees this year that are colorful and unusual," Jesse said. "Next year, gosh, I hope we can have our big open house event that we can't have this year." Rohrbacher added, "Next year, I truly believe the contest will be much closer to the normal event. Until then, we will carry on in the safest and most imaginative ways we can. The arts are a survival kit for the soul." To view the annual Christmas tree contest, visit facebook.com/gallery.336. Winners will be announced Dec. 20. Contact John Benson at Ndiffrence@att.net.