<p>Twinkling lights, gingerbread cutouts and Santa’s workshop served as the backdrop for 16 uniquely Johnson County trees set along a path through fake snow.</p><p>Visitors could marvel at a Willy Wonka-inspired tree created by the Historic Artcraft Theatre, decorated with chocolate bars, golden tickets and candy garland while topped with a purple velvet hat. A bejeweled sea turtle carried the mind to warmer locales on Johnson County Senior Services’ tree, “Seas &amp; Greetings.”</p><p>The Nimble Thimble Quilt Club flushed 2020 with a pandemic-themed tree complete with face masks, hand sanitizer and rolls of toilet paper with slogans such as “Crappiest Year Ever.”</p>[sc:text-divider text-divider-title="Story continues below gallery" ]Click here to purchase photos from this gallery<p>Local organizations have put their most festive foot forward in the annual Dec-A-Tree competition, held at the Johnson County Museum of History. Each group put together a stylized tree with themes such as “Polar Express,” “Love More” and “White Christmas.” Visitors to the museum can vote for their favorite, with the winners receiving cash prizes.</p><p>At the same time, all of the participants have the opportunity to to shine a spotlight on their services they provide while showing off their creativity, said David Pfeiffer, director of the museum.</p><p>“For us, it’s a way to give back a little bit to the community. Everyone loves seeing the Dec-A-Trees, and it’s amazing to see what all of these local organizations have come up while giving them some publicity as well, showing the great work that they do,” he said.</p><p>The museum has been hosting its tree competition since the 1990s as a complement to visits with Santa Claus. The idea was to create a fun holiday competition among area nonprofits, while also providing people with something to look at while waiting in line to see St. Nick, Pfeiffer said.</p><p>Participants include a mix of longtime supporters and new organizations, which gives each year a fresh look. Entrants get very elaborate with their creations, looking to popular culture, holiday-themed puns or natural beauty for inspiration.</p><p>This year’s crop of trees is no different.</p><p>The Franklin chapter of Tri Kappa Sorority put together a superheroes motif, blending images of Iron Man, Captain America and Spider-Man with ornaments recognizing the work of real-life heroes: nurses, teachers, police, firefighters and veterans.</p><p>To help people better understand the meaning of different Christmas icons, All God’s Children Preschool created placard ornaments that explained holiday symbols such as the evergreens, candy cane and star on top of the tree.</p><p>A ribbon on the Girls Inc. of Johnson County tree declared “Hats off to Girls Inc.,” among a variety of top hat ornaments and tree topper. Franklin College used their traditional bear theme, while the local Love More effort adorned its tree with hearts and peace symbols.</p><p>Johnson County Parks &amp; Recreation paid tribute to sloths, complete with a huge sloth head with a Santa hat and a white beard as a topper.</p><p>“It’s amazing the creativity that they have come up with,” Pfeiffer said.</p><p>The museum will not be hosting Santa this year, due to the COVID-19 outbreak. But organizers have set up scenes that serve as photo opportunities, such as a Santa’s workshop with tools and toys, in addition to a cozy living room with stockings hung with care.</p><p>People can pose in front of those scenes, using the setups as a backdrop for holiday photos.</p><p>Other changes include asking visitors to pick up their voting tickets at their front desk, as opposed to having a basket of tickets next to the trees. Officials are also limiting the number of people in the auditorium in order to maintain proper social distancing.</p><p>Those were small adjustments to make in order to do the competition again in 2020.</p><p>“It’s important to us that since we can’t do Santa this year, we want to keep at least one tradition going,” Pfeiffer said. “We can’t do what we usually do, but we want to make the best of a bad situation.”</p>[sc:pullout-title pullout-title="At a glance" ][sc:pullout-text-begin]<p><strong>Dec-A-Tree</strong></p><p>What: A tree-decorating competition among local organizations.</p><p>Where: Johnson County Museum of History, 135 N. Main St., Franklin</p><p>When: The trees can be viewed from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. People can vote for their favorite while there.</p><p>Participants:</p><p>Tri Kappa-Franklin: "Superheroes"</p><p>The Historic Artcraft Theatre: "Willy Wonka"</p><p>Trafalgar Garden Club: "Nuttin for Christmas"</p><p>ASSIST Indiana: "Polar Express"</p><p>Johnson County 4-H: "Oh the Places You’ll Go"</p><p>Love More: "Love More"</p><p>Johnson County Senior Services: "Seas &amp; Greetings"</p><p>Human Services Inc. Head Start: "Arctic Animals"</p><p>Johnson County Parks and Recreation: "The Sloth"</p><p>All God’s Children Preschool: "Symbols of Christmas"</p><p>St. Rose of Lima Catholic School: "Bee Attitudes"</p><p>Nimble Thimbles Quilt Club: "Quilted Christmas"</p><p>Turning Point Domestic Violence Services: "Christmas Around the World"</p><p>Franklin College: "Franklin College Bears"</p><p>Girls Inc. of Johnson County: "Top Hats"</p><p>Franklin Symphonic Council: "White Christmas"</p>[sc:pullout-text-end]
