Kimberly Crest House Celebrates Annual Tree Lighting

The Magnolia Tree on the lawn of the Kimberly Crest House once was lit each year for the Christmas season by its resident Mrs. Kimberly Shrik. The lit tree could be seen throughout the city of Redlands and signaled the beginnings of the season for its residents. Today Mrs. Shrik’s proud tradition is continued by the Kimberly Crest House in the annual Christmas Tree Lightning. The event was held at 6 pm. on Sunday, Dec 6. The official program began with caroling from the Redlands East Valley High School Choir with holiday classics such as “Sing We Now of Christmas” and “Joy to the World.” First year choir student, Imani Winston enjoyed performing and spreading holiday cheer in front of the diverse crowd. “There was a variety of people from different ages it was so much fun,” Winston said. “It feels good to share the holiday cheer through music. You can tell people Happy Holidays, but you don’t feel it unless there is music in the air.” Kimberly Crest House, Executive Director, Tonja Blankenship followed the choir with a welcoming statement and brief history of the tree lighting. “I think it’s a wonderful time. Families can come enjoy the property and the holidays with a little bit of history at the same time,” Blankenship said, “We always have Kimberly Elementary come and sing, which is a nice close connection to the family. A special element we incorporated this year is having two people perform hand bells from the First Congregational Church which is the one Mrs. Shirk and her family attended. We try to keep a lot of the connections with the family in continuing the event.” The festivities continued with an Invocation from Lowell Linden of the First Congregational Church. “This is a wonderful community event that I am glad to be a part of,” Linden said. Linden’s wife, Shirley Linden and Bruce McClurg followed the Invocation with a hand bells performance. While Linden enjoyed performing, it was seeing the children’s choir perform that she enjoyed most. “They always include the elementary school and it is really fun to come see the children sing.” Linden said As is tradition the Kimberly Elementary School choir performed classic Christmas tunes. They ended the night’s festivities in signing “Silent Night” with the Redlands East Valley High School. Once the music had ended, board member Larry Munz had the honor of lighting the trees on the second balcony. Guests who attended the program were able to visit the first floor of the Kimberly Crest House and observe the decorated rooms done by varied public organizations at a $5 donation. There was also an opportunity to take photos with Santa and his helpers. Refreshments were served by Kimberly Juniors which included Riley’s Farms donated fresh cider and Sweet Pea and Me Bakery’s cookies. According to Kimberly Junior, Lena Sumarli the cookies served are close to Mrs. Shrik’s original cinnamon cookie recipe. Sumarli enjoyed the tradition of serving them. “It’s fun to pass out the Ginger Cookies to everyone,” Sumarli said. Fellow Kimberly Junior, Autumn Radtke enjoys the Christmas spirit itself. “It is nice to see all the Christmas cheer with everyone in Redlands,” Radtke said, “It is a beautiful tradition each year and starts off the season right.”