Brenda Cavallaro standing alongside the 2025 Falconer Community Center’s Christmas Tree.

FALCONER – Village Historian Brenda Cavallaro has been hard at work continuing the yearly Christmas tradition of erecting a special tree in the village’s community building.

Each year, Cavallaro ensures that the tree and its decorations commemorate some historical, or community, aspect of the village.

This year’s tree pays tribute to the Mural Festival that took place in the village back in September. The Mural Fest was part of a larger county-wide celebration, which saw four different municipalities celebrating the addition of a mural. Cavallaro was a member of the steering committee, which was deciding on the contents of the mural. During this time, Cavallaro would arrange activities to promote the festival, during which she would capture numerous pictures. One of these activities that Cavallaro helped to arrange was a painted rock scavenger hunt. The scavenger hunt allowed residents to come into the community building and paint rocks. Cavallaro would then display the rocks all around the village for people to find, with some even offering prizes if they were found. Cavallaro stated that this year’s Christmas tree displays the many photos that she took during the activities, showcasing the various happenings around the village.

Cavallaro once again took on the task of creating the decorations herself. Cavallaro made various ornaments that contain pictures from the events. The ornaments are painted, with brushes and paints hung throughout the tree as an accent, said Cavallaro. On top of these decorations, Cavallaro also noted the addition of a new tree this year, further showing off the wonderful display of community.

Each year has a unique and differing theme from the last. For example, last year’s theme was focused around the many businesses that have long existed in the village. Cavallaro stated that this tree consisted of a map that she created. This map would showcase various locations of these businesses. Another year, Cavallaro said that the tree was dedicated to celebrating the 130th anniversary of the Falconer Fire Department. This tree contained decorations that commemorated each member of the department, with an ornament containing their name, said Cavallaro. Additionally, Cavallaro topped the tree with a fireman’s helmet to fit the theme.

Cavallaro noted the inspiration for this tree coming from the want to continue past traditions of the village. Cavallaro stated that, between 10 and 15 years ago, the town had a memory tree that was managed by a committee. Cavallaro was a member of this committee herself. The tree allowed community residents to purchase an ornament to commemorate a loved one that has passed. Cavallaro stated that the committee eventually dissolved, and the project was too large for one person to continue. Cavallaro did not want to leave the tree empty each year, and therefore took it upon herself to begin this new tradition.

Members of the community are welcomed to visit the tree at the community center, located at 101 West Main Street. The community center’s hours of operation are from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.