Dear Downtown Chico Business Association: We are dismayed to see that, once again, you are making the traditional downtown Chico tree lighting problematic.
Last year, it happened hours earlier than was customary, without the change having been adequately advertised. We arrived about 6 p.m. to find that it was all over, and there wasn’t even Santa visiting with the young children as had been done in the past. Many other parents with small children were arriving around the same time, even more disappointed than we were to find no promised Santa or Christmas tree lighting.
Now this year, it is scheduled for hours later than customary, much too late for young children to stay up. If you proceed with this schedule, I am confident that you will receive numerous complaints, particularly from the parents of young children.
I appreciate that it may be expensive and time consuming to run two separate events to kick off the Christmas season. However, at this rate, you are in the process of ruining a long-time popular event, that in the past has brought shoppers to the downtown area for the start of the holiday shopping season rather than just the pre-Thanksgiving preview.
An 8 p.m. start time is likely to appeal to bar hoppers and the homeless, but we sincerely doubt they do much shopping downtown.
I hope you will reconsider this ill-advised plan before it is too late to save a much-loved community tradition.
— Arthur and Margo Lemner, Chico