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"Tree of Life" and learn how the city has worked to make this Book of Mormon vision into a real-life Christmas display.
Nestled in the heart of Draper City Park, a lone willow tree lights up the crisp Christmas air with over 1,000 strands of lights. This tree, seemingly ablaze with white fire, symbolizes so much more to the people of Draper than the light and warmth of the season. It has become a living symbol of the love of Christ—a vision from the Book of Mormon come to life.
But, unlike that precious fruit offered to all freely in the Book of Mormon, it took a lot of money and hard work for Draper city to create this dreamlike vision. Costing upwards of $25,000, it took four men working from eight in the morning to eight at night three and a half days to string the lights.
"The city does it for the public," says Luke Walker, head of the project from the lighting display company, Brite Nites. "They want to bring people together for Christmas and every year there are more and more people who come out to see the 'Tree of Life.'"
One look at this heavenly willow and it's easy to see where the name comes from. "In an LDS area like Draper, a lot of people just pictured it as the 'Tree of Life' and it caught on," Walker says.
The genesis for the "Tree of Life" came from former Draper City Forrester, Blaine Nelson—an idea that Brite Nites then made into a reality. It's a fitting celebration of the season for a city recognized by the National Arbor Day Foundation as a Tree City USA. This Christmas display has quickly become a cherished tradition for the community, a tradition that the city hopes to continue for quite some time.
"The mayor of the town really endorses it, "Walker says. "He has praised it every year we have done it and said that it's one of the best light displays he has ever seen. [The city] will continue to do it and fund it as long as they can."
If you want to bring a little bit of the Book of Mormon into your Christmas, you can check out the "Tree of Life" at Draper City Park located at 12500 South 1300 East
Nestled in the heart of Draper City Park, a lone willow tree lights up the crisp Christmas air with over 1,000 strands of lights. This tree, seemingly ablaze with white fire, symbolizes so much more to the people of Draper than the light and warmth of the season. It has become a living symbol of the love of Christ—a vision from the Book of Mormon come to life.
But, unlike that precious fruit offered to all freely in the Book of Mormon, it took a lot of money and hard work for Draper city to create this dreamlike vision. Costing upwards of $25,000, it took four men working from eight in the morning to eight at night three and a half days to string the lights.
"The city does it for the public," says Luke Walker, head of the project from the lighting display company, Brite Nites. "They want to bring people together for Christmas and every year there are more and more people who come out to see the 'Tree of Life.'"
One look at this heavenly willow and it's easy to see where the name comes from. "In an LDS area like Draper, a lot of people just pictured it as the 'Tree of Life' and it caught on," Walker says.
The genesis for the "Tree of Life" came from former Draper City Forrester, Blaine Nelson—an idea that Brite Nites then made into a reality. It's a fitting celebration of the season for a city recognized by the National Arbor Day Foundation as a Tree City USA. This Christmas display has quickly become a cherished tradition for the community, a tradition that the city hopes to continue for quite some time.
"The mayor of the town really endorses it, "Walker says. "He has praised it every year we have done it and said that it's one of the best light displays he has ever seen. [The city] will continue to do it and fund it as long as they can."
If you want to bring a little bit of the Book of Mormon into your Christmas, you can check out the "Tree of Life" at Draper City Park located at 12500 South 1300 East
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