Chamber of Commerce officials are hoping to get Brookhavencitizens involved with sprucing the town up for Christmas thisSaturday.

“Anyone that wants to help downtown putting lights on trees,bushes and planters is more than welcome,” said Kay Burton of theBrookhaven-Lincoln County Chamber of Commerce.” We do everythingthat the bucket truck doesn’t do.”

While the Christmas falling stars and banners are being put up onBrookway Boulevard and along Highway 51, the chamber is holding awork day Saturday to do the work that is closer to the ground.Burton said the call has gone out for volunteers not only to helpwith manpower, but also to get people in the Christmas spirit andto give them a project they can take pride in.

“When you give to a project like this, it helps you build a lot ofpride in the results and the community,” said Burton. “It reallygets you in the Christmas spirit, because you’re out making ourtown look beautiful. Last year I enjoyed looking at the lightsbecause I had a vested interest in it, and I even took my familydown to see them too.”

Burton said volunteers will meet at the Chamber of Commerce at 8a.m. Saturday and will continue until noon or until they feel likequitting. A major part of the job will be putting lights onplanters with zip ties, she said.

“It’s just a couple of strands of lights on each bush, and havingmore people makes it go a lot faster,” said Burton. “Last year wedid it with a skeleton crew, took two solid weeks of nights. So wethought, ‘Why don’t we have a work day and let other people be apart of it too?'”

And things are gearing up for the holidays all over town, asdowntown business owners are decorating and hanging their ownlights as well. Burton said business owners are asked to decorate,and many of them actually maintain the lights on the downtownsilhouette.

“It’s not a hard project that way, but we as the chamber don’t havethe manpower to get up on people’s roofs to do that,” she said.”Some people maintain it and some don’t, but I’d love for buildingowners to take that on themselves, because to have the wholedowntown silhouette in lights would be spectacular.”

Burton said other decorations are in the process of being put up onthe light poles by city workers in bucket trucks, including 64 bluebanners that say “Peace,” and 76 lighted stars. She said the poleson Brookway Boulevard needed electrical outlets, and as those areinstalled, the lighted stars are being put up.

“Those won’t be lit until the day of the Christmas parade, thoughwe’ll have nights that we test them to make sure no breakers getthrown,” said Burton.

The city’s Railroad Park will also feature wise men on camels,Burton said, and a large lighted Santa, which is a new addition tothe decorations this year.

“Last year the wise men made such a beautiful statement, and wealso have a nativity scene,” she said. “We’ve always had lighteddeer and carolers and a train, and this year we added Santa.”