Norris will shine brighter than ever
‘Thousands’ more holiday lights added to city’s decorations
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When most folks are getting ready for Thanksgiving, Norris Shines helpers are installing thousands of Christmas lights on the Norris downtown gazebo. The lights were installed last week by (from left), Chuck Edrington, Blake Knight, Eric Rauch and Mike Robinson. The lights will be turned on Dec. 1, marking the beginning of the Norris Shines celebra- tion, which runs during the month of December.
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This year’s Norris Shines was made possible by many generous contributions from residents and businesses throughout the Norris area. Norris Shines received a $1,000 check from Norris-Clinton Urgent Care located across the street from Anderson County High School on Charles G. Seivers Boulevard. Pictured, from left, are Angela Youakim– MA, Christy Rigney–receptionist, Bonnie Peacock–chairperson of Norris Shires, Kristina Bowle – FNP-BC & owner.
Thanks to the many contributions given to the Norris Shines organization over the past six months, this year’s holiday lighting celebration will be bigger, better, and brighter than ever before, featuring thousands of extra lights in two new locations.
In addition to the downtown gazebo being decorated with lights and showcasing an eight-foot-tall Christmas tree like last year, hundreds of additional lights will be placed in the walkway between the Norris Post Office and the Twisted Sisters Café, in the center of downtown Norris.
Mike Robinson is heading up the project to transform this covered walkway into a Christmas light walk-through.
According to Robinson, this new lighted location, featuring more than 3,000 lights, should become a Christmas focal point for locals and visitors who would like to take pictures with their families in downtown Norris during the holiday season.
“We are hoping to create a lighting winter wonderland photo point similar to what you see in the movies,” Robinson said.
Also new this year will be a 12-foot lighted Christmas tree placed in the Commons area across from the Norris Middle School.
This new tree will be topped by a two-foot tree to present a unique lighted “tree on tree” combination.
This is in addition to the colorful Christmas decorations traditionally placed by other civic organizations.
As in the past two years, the Norris Shines committee encourages all Norris residents to decorate their homes and yards with lights, wreaths, garlands, inflatables, and trees so residents and visitors can enjoy a holiday driving tour through the town. It is estimated that more than 200 Norris residents spectacularly decorated their houses for the Christmas event in 2021.
The Norris Shines committee predicts even more homes will join the event this year.
The committee comprises Ann Lesar, Susan Batchelor, Brianne Kibler, Cynthia Edrington and Bonnie Peacock, all volunteers who are Norris residents.
The extra funding for Norris Shines was the result of the donations generated by the community reacting to the Christmas lights and decorations being stolen from a storage area last April.
Committee Chairperson Bonnie Peacock said, “When the word got out that we needed to replace these lights and decorations, the response was tremendous. We raised enough money not only to replace the lost lights but to add many more to make Norris brighter than ever. We turned lemons into lemonade.”
Peacock said that Norris Shines is still encouraging more donations because the more donations, the more lights that will go up to keep making this unique community a very special place during the holiday season.
To help make Norris Shine even brighter, please send your donation to Norris Shines, P.O. Box 515, Norris, TN 37828.
For more information, visit the Norris Recreation Commission’s page on Facebook, or call Bonnie Peacock at 865-388-0788.
