The Willow Glen Business and Professional Association is heading a beautification project to bring permanent lighting to 42 trees downtown. The plan is to sparkle up the avenue before the start of the holiday season.

Siena Mediterranean Bistro owner and business association member Don Skipwith says the idea sprouted as he and his wife drove through downtown Saratoga and saw white lights in city trees.

"It was so majestic," Skipwith says. "I thought, 'Hey, wouldn't it be great if we did that in Willow Glen?'"

Skipwith suggested the idea to the Willow Glen Business and Professional Association at its August meeting and the board of directors saw it fitting into the association's strategic plan, developing more "evening ambiance," Executive Director Norma Ruiz says.

The association's newly created strategic plan calls for "outdoor evening pedestrian ambiance and congregating areas."

With the association's support, Skipworth took the lead on the project and wrote fundraising letters, targeting businesses that have been successful because of the Willow Glen community.

Many businesses sponsored the avenue tree lighting, including generous donations from Alain Pinel Realtors, DeMattei Construction, Prudential Realty, Coldwell Banker, and the Willow Glen Resident.

The contractor, Charlie Ferchau of Sierra Display, donated the cost of lighting the first tree and installed lights on trees with available power sources between Minnesota and Coe avenues.

Last year, Ferchau installed the string lights and garlands across Lincoln Avenue as well as the holiday lanterns.

"We're doing a little more each year to see how we can make it come a little more alive," he says.

Norma Ruiz says she's been "blown away" by the positive response from front-property business owners.

"I'm 100 percent for it," Sharky's owner Jim Latter says. "It puts people in a more festive mood and makes the holidays last all year round."

Jake's Restaurant's manager Juan Esquivias says the lights will distinguish the downtown area and give it a consistent look.

Ruiz says property owner Michael Mulcahy and the city will supply the majority of the power from Minnesota Avenue to Willow Street.

"There's a lot of community effort to put the best face on Lincoln Avenue, and people like our family are stepping up to supply what we can," says Mulcahy, whose family members are third-generation Willow Glen residents and own a real estate development company.

According to Ruiz, the cost of electricity will be "pretty minimal," with each tree powered by three amps and set on timers to go on at dark and off at midnight.

"It's not like Las Vegas, it's not a power drain," she says, adding that the contractor is checking with the power providers—several merchants on the avenue—to ensure it's "not shorting out their sources."

The trees from Willow Street to Coe Avenue will be powered exclusively by the city. A cable is attached from the upper branches to a streetlight that also powers the lights strung across the street.

The 42 trees, which have been fully funded, are part of the first phase of "Light Up Willow Glen." The avenue has a total of 108 trees, and many do not have accessible power. As funds become available, the plan is to light up more avenue trees.

Skipworth says Willow Glen is a "a very beautiful and comforting community," but thinks if "we put some lights on trees we'll even enjoy it more."