The Willow Glen Resident

WGBPA says garlands are too shabby for the Avenue

Business manager hopes to find a merchant who will help fix them up

By Cecily Barnes

Shopping after dark in downtown Willow Glen this holiday season is exactly that--dark. For the first time in three years, the Willow Glen Business Association did not drape the Avenue with lighted garlands to reminded shoppers of the holiday season. Board members say Willow Glen has outgrown the garlands that have become tattered and old.

"To take a community like Willow Glen and put up a lousy string of lights would be an embarrassment. They look tacky," board member Jerry Caravelli said. "I am not in favor of it until we can afford to do something decent."

The WGBPA board voted against hanging the holiday garlands at its Oct. 14 board meeting because of negative comments from merchants and residents last year. According to association manager Demetri Rizos, the district has grown so much that board members believe it deserves something better than the garlands, which they consider shabby and out-of-date.

"[Putting up] nothing would be better than those garlands," Caravelli said. "Last year the lights that went up, half of them worked and half of them didn't. We got more complaints from the community about the lack of working lights than we did [comments] about how nice they looked."

The garlands have taken up space at the WGBPA office for many years. No one knows exactly when they were purchased, but everyone agrees they've been around for some time. According to Caravelli, they used to be decorated with candles and candy canes until those decorations were broken or lost.

"About six years ago we found the lights [in the business office] and went through and restrung them," Caravelli said. "These things date back I don't know how many years."

Rizos plans to donate the garlands to an organization that can fix them up.

But some merchants say even aged garlands would be better than nothing at all.

"They might be old, but they're better than nothing, even if they are pink," said Robyn Levine, owner of Details Clothing Company. "All of Willow Glen lights up their homes magnificently; how could the downtown not?"

Other merchants say they didn't notice the condition of the garlands last year but would like to see some decorations on Lincoln Avenue, although they understand how time-consuming decorating can be.

"To tell you the truth, we've been too overwhelmed with how busy we are to look any further than our store," Casa Casa owner Nancy Biagini said. "I think [the association] has major problems getting people to volunteer, so I would hate to be upset with them--but it sure would look pretty."

The association will be discussing ways to light up Lincoln Avenue's 70 trees for next year's holiday season. According to manager Rizos, one possibility would involve every business sponsoring the trees directly in front of their shop, office or restaurant.

"We definitely want to put something on the Avenue for Christmas, but the garlands were just outdated," Rizos said. "A long-range plan is to light the trees on the Avenue."

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