Johnson City's Candy Land Christmas draws crowds from afar

Johnson City is becoming known for its Christmas trees.Candy Land Christmas, the annual downtown decorative tree event, is becoming a big draw, Johnson City Commissioner Jenny Brock said."I'll go up to the top of Tannery Knob to look at the view up there," she said. "There was a couple up there, more mature, like they'd retired. I started talking to them. They said they'd moved here six months ago or something. I said, 'how'd you find Johnson City?' They said, 'we read about your Christmas trees.'"Businesses can pay a fee to the city to rent a Christmas tree in Founders Park or other parks around downtown, which they can decorate and personalize. This year, Brock said they ran out of trees within four minutes of posting the event. The event began in 2020 amid the Covid-19 pandemic when it wasn't advised for people to gather indoors. "My whole thought was, we can't let the Grinch steal Christmas from our kids," Brock said.She asked the Public Works director "how many trees he could get his hands on." The director had an idea do a Christmas tree trail through downtown, so the event came together.In the final weeks of December in 2020, the park "just filled with people," and Brock saw the joy in the gathering "because everyone had been isolated for a long time." A surprisingly heavy snowfall added to the appeal."On Christmas Eve, it snowed like the devil," Brock said. "I think it was almost eight inches of snow. The pictures that started coming out of Founders Park were just beautiful. Just magical."The event was successful enough that they had to keep doing it. They've offered more trees every year, all quickly claimed by eager businesses. The second year they had around 150 trees, and this year they sold 180.Brock said the event started to help families stoke some holiday cheer, but had grown into an attraction drawing people from far outside the city limits. The event aligns with city plans to maintain "quality of place," and boost tourism, Brock said."It just gives [tourists] such good feelings," she said. "They say, 'You know, this may be a pretty cool place.' Then they see the mountains and all that. It's great." The city's Parks & Recreation department was finishing a new display on Friday, set to be revealed this weekend at the tree lighting ceremony. Last year, they created a life-size replica of the classic board game "Candy Land," and Brock didn't know what they had in store this time."They're doing something else this year and they won't tell us," Brock said.Tonight, the Candy Land Christmas event kicks off at 6:30 p.m. at King Commons Park with the tree lighting. The event runs from tonight until Jan. 4. Visitors can also vote for their favorite tree, the winner receiving a complimentary tree at next year's event. Information can be found here: https://www.downtownjctn.com/candyland.