Athens locals continue to spread holiday cheer as they have in decades past, celebrating with neighbors and family while preparing for the new year. Uptown, residents and visitors can view festive lights, enjoy delicious hot chocolate and themed coffee and visit the glimmering community tree.
The community tree, located on the corner of Court Street and Washington Street, is provided to the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce by the City of Athens and sponsored by the Barbara Geralds Institute for Storytelling and Social Impact.
For around 25 years, Passion Works Studio has been hanging its handmade ornaments from the branches of the community tree. With its ornaments, Passion Works is aiming to make a positive impact on community members and the non-profits that help Athens thrive.
Patty Mitchell, the executive director at Passion Works Studio, said the studio loves to participate in local events that add value to the community.
“Not every community has such inclusion and welcoming,” Mitchell said. “You know, our artists with developmental differences are at the heart of so many events and celebrations, and I think that's really super fabulous and very, very Athens.”
Passion Works Studio’s ornaments honor and acknowledge Athens Habitat for Humanity ReStore, celebrating all they do for the community. Mitchell said they recently finished a 137-foot mural at ReStore, and everyone involved was very excited to celebrate the organization.
Delaney Lucas, a childhood cancer survivor, painted the golden sun on the ReStore mural to support Turn It Gold’s mission of raising awareness of childhood cancer and raising funds for research, according to a previous report by The Post.
When AACC asked Mitchell to once again decorate the community tree, she was happy to continue to celebrate Habitat for Humanity ReStore and the other children who contributed their art to the mural.
Lucas’ sun sits on the very top of the tree. Mitchell said Passion Works was happy to celebrate these kids and said all of the ornaments were created from recycled materials gathered directly from the area.
A short walk away from the community tree is the Athena Cinema, a spot to watch holiday classics. The Athena showed movies, such as “The Muppets Christmas Carol” and “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” which Daniel Schwartze, assistant manager of The Athena and projectionist, said it is his favorite Christmas movie.
This year, the Athena had two musical performances to accompany its holiday movies. “How The Grinch Stole Christmas” was accompanied by the appapella group Tempo Tantrums and the Ohio University trombone choir performed before “Elf.”
“It's nice to see so many people come out and just enjoy themselves,” Schwartze said.
Schwartze said the locals seem to enjoy any “Muppets” movie the cinema puts on, and “Elf” is the most popular with the students. To complement the holiday movies, the Athena offers several alcoholic drinks, including the Sleigh Ride, which is made with peppermint bark, RumChata, vanilla cold brew and vodka.
The Athena accepted cans for donations instead of ticket prices for its holiday series, which were all donated to local food pantries. Schwartze said there is usually a large pile of canned goods and food at the end of each night.
A local from Albany recently began her own food drive this year while simultaneously spreading the holiday spirit in her area. Connie Sheets, a kindergarten teacher, said she has been decorating her house to the nines for several years, with string lights and bright yard decorations visible from down the road.
Over the years, her house has gained some recognition from locals, with parents driving their kids over to Swart Road to look at the light show and receive some candy. The lights are synced up to 94.5 FM, and Sheets said onlookers love to see the lights dancing together.
This is the first year she decided to go further and organize a canned food drive for the Blessing Boxes in Athens County. Sheets said her niece gave her the idea and took charge of the project. Her niece picked 10 Blessing Boxes to drop the donations off at, with two locations in Albany, six in Athens, one in New Marshfield and one in Shade. The family collected 255 donated goods to be dropped off at the boxes.
Ever since she was a little girl, Sheets has been decorating her house for the winter holidays. She said she remembers climbing on the roof to help her dad pin the lights, and said her dad’s love for Christmas inspired her to celebrate in her adult life.
“I kind of do this in his memory,” Sheets said. “It just was something instilled as a child, and I just loved it then. I have two sons and three granddaughters now, it's something that always makes me happy, seeing the people happy.”
Athens is built on people and togetherness, and the holiday season not only lights up the town with bright lights and Christmas trees, but also the human spirit.
