Community Corner
Visitation Parish Makes Tree Sales A Welcome Christmas Tradition
Darnestown church turns Christmas tree sales into a yearly parish event.
Friday, Dec. 2, marks the beginning of the 12th season of Christmas tree sales for Our Lady of the Visitation Parish (OLVP) in Darnestown.
What began as a fundraising idea has turned into one of the church’s main events.
OLVP entered the Christmas Tree selling market in 1999 before construction of their new church on Seneca Road was complete and they were still leasing space from Fairhaven United Methodist Church on Darnestown Road.
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“The trees were not that good our first year,” said Bill Connors, OLVP parishioner and Darnestown resident, “so after that we took a road trip …we wanted to find our own tree farm to supply fresh trees.”
Connors and fellow parishioners, including Marty Kelly and the late Jerry Foley, found the tree farm they were looking for in western North Carolina, and have used this supplier ever since.
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Although it may have taken a year or so to perfect their methods, OLVP now boasts the freshest trees in town.
“We buy only premium trees specially tagged for us. The trees will be cut fresh on Monday, wrapped and loaded on Tuesday, delivered by Wednesday night, unloaded and set up on Thursday, and on sale Friday,” said Connors.
The 400 trees brought up from North Carolina will be Fraser firs, a favorite in the Darnestown community. But, Connors added, people tend to gravitate to the kind of trees they remember from their childhood. Some people want Douglas firs, which can only be found in more northern climates.
So in an effort to please his broad-based clientele, Connors will head up to the Pennsylvania border on Dec. 1 to pick up 100 Douglas firs, he said.
Over the years, OLVP has built up a loyal fan base of returning customers who buy their trees every year from the lot.
“These are the freshest trees and they never drop their needles,” said Beth Jordan, parishioner and North Potomac resident. “I buy two trees every year.”
The business of selling Christmas trees is not all work and no fun.
“Our record for unloading the truck is 48 minutes,” laughed Connors, “so we’ll see if we can beat that this year.”
Many of the parishioners, if they are not selling trees on the lot, come to help out by feeding the workers with their favorite chili or soup recipes, and making bows for the 100 wreaths that arrive with the trees, Connors said.
“We started out as a fundraiser but this has become such a parish event,” said Connors, “and people, both parishioners and customers, really enjoy it.”
Trees go on sale Friday, Dec. 2 through Dec. 11. Open weekends from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. and weeknights from 4 to 7:30 p.m.