What’s Next for the Santa Ornament?
What’s Next for the Santa Ornament?
OLEAN - For goodness sakes, the holiday decorations were just taken down and you are talking Christmas in January!
Greater Olean Area Chamber of Commerce is looking to the community for ideas for its 2023 Santa Claus Lane ornament. Through the ornament sales, holiday lights are funded and can be lit in Olean from November to early January. The ornament will be the twenty-nineth in a series created by artist Kathleen McDonald.
Every year through voting from the Santa Claus Lane committee, Events committee, Chamber board and staff as well as from the community, a landmark is chosen to be designed on the 3-1/2 inch circular resin ornament. The artist sketches the layout from photos provided by Chamber officials and a prototype is created. Once the prototype is approved, work begins with the process of pouring and hand-painting each piece. The ornaments arrive in Olean, individually boxed, with a brief description of the ornament.
Below is a list of several buildings that have been suggested to be an ornament: Rock City Park; Bartlett Country Club; Christopher Columbus Lodge; Dal Tile Plant; Downtown Deli; Governor Higgins Mansion; Lincoln Diner; Olean House; Sprague’s Maple Farms, Olean Public Library, Paul's Steakhouse; PickUps; Portville’s Pioneer Park; St. Mary's School; Thatcher Plant Factory and Warner's Pizza.
Tricia Henzel, former events director at Greater Olean Area Chamber of Commerce and current (but soon to be retiring) physicians recruiter at Olean Medical Group connected with the Chamber early last year. “The Olean Medical Group will be celebrating 75 years in 2023 and thought they’d make an excellent ornament choice,” said Meme K. Yanetsko, GOACC COO.
Past ornaments include (starting in 1999) the Olean Municipal Building, the Fannie E. Bartlett House, St. Mary of the Angels Church, Olean High School, St. Stephen’s Church, St. Bonaventure University, a depiction of Santa Claus Lane, the Olean General Hospital, Olean Post Office, Community Bank, Ivers J. Norton, the Castle Restaurant, St. Francis Hospital, Chuck Wagon Restaurant, Palace Theater, Boardmanville Elementary, Red and Trudys, North Union Street street scape (1st hundred block west side) , Olean Class Cars, Cloud 9 Amusement Park, Bradners Stadium, Henry H. Hill, Archbishop Walsh, Beef ‘n’ Barrel Restaurant, Tasta Pizza, the Olean Public Library, and this past year, there were two – First Presbyterian Church and Pioneer Park in Portville.
Yanetsko added, “The committee wants community input on this ornament… what do you want to see in the ornament?” Please submit ideas to GOACC no later than February 3 by calling 716-372-4433, emailing info@oleanny.com or on facebook at facebook.com/OleanNYChamber.