20th ANNUAL TINY TREE DISPLAY AT THE CLARKSVILLE PUBLIC LIBRARY

The Clarksville Public Library is excited to be holding its 20^th Annual Tiny Tree display next week during its Holiday Open House. Over the last twenty years, this fun and festive tradition has brought in almost 1,000 tiny, decorated trees to the library…which have been viewed by over 4,000 people!

The idea of having tiny trees at the library came in 2002 and was held in conjunction with the town’s first-ever Festival of Trees. The Festival of Trees (which replaced the Images of Christmas for a few years) had full-sized trees on display at the Amvet Hall and Fire Station, and then later at the school gymnasium. The tiny trees were the perfect size to sit on top of the library’s bookshelves, and so the tradition began.

Some years, as many as sixty-five trees (in all shapes and sizes) have topped the shelves! The variety of trees has ranged from traditional Christmas and winter decorations to homemade ornaments. The creative and crafty ideas included trees decorated with wool snowflakes, gnomes, tatted bookmarks, buttons, cinnamon ornaments, and gumdrops. 

Not only have the decorations been creative over the years, but the structure of the trees have been as well. There have been trees made out of horseshoes, feathers, fishing line, books, and bed springs! Trees have also been decorated to represent individuals’ hobbies, careers, and favorite sports teams (UNI, Iowa, Iowa State, and Wartburg trees have all been present).

The library staff looks forward to seeing the library shelves fill with trees every year and they encourage anyone (families, kids, adults, groups/clubs, and businesses) to bring in a tree!

Stop by the Clarksville Public Library during their Holiday Open House Week (Monday, Dec. 6 to Saturday, Dec. 11 during regular business hours) to view all the trees and watch the tradition grow!