The Tioga County Historical Society Museum’s 2009 O’Tannenbaum Holiday Showcase and Auction officially begins on Saturday, November 14th

From Tioga County Chamber of Commerce:


The Tioga County Historical Society Museum’s 2009 O’Tannenbaum Holiday Showcase and Auction officially begins on Saturday, November 14th (10 am to 5 pm) and will run through Friday, December 18th. The theme this year is “The Nutcracker”. Admission is free though donations are welcomed to support the operations of this non-profit. The event’s major sponsor is Visions Federal Credit Union.

The showcase features holiday trees decorated by individuals, businesses and organizations throughout Tioga, Broome, and surrounding counties and includes an assortment of wreaths, baskets and crafts. The museum offers an artificial tree or wreath free of charge to anyone willing to decorate the item and donate it back to the museum for the display. Visitors have an opportunity to bid on these items in a silent auction that runs through December 18th.

During the 2009 exhibit, visitors will once again be privy to a very unique tree decorated with Ukrainian Eggs. The eggs are created by a group of women skilled in this craft and who refer to themselves as “the Egg Ladies”. These women meet once a month throughout the year to create Ukrainian Easter eggs (or pysanky) that will adorn a 3 foot artificial white Christmas tree. Other returning favorites include a 6 foot tree adorned with books from the Friends of the Coburn Free Library, one covered in Fuddy Duddy’s trifles (200 of them), the much sought after Hand of Man tree, another coveted tree covered with Best Buy products and every woman’s dream (the tree from the Hair Color Café).
Also a tree from every kid’s favorite store, the Laughing Place, and a one-of-a-kind Santa created by renowned wood carver Roger Westgate (Candor, NY).

Santa will visit Candy Land (in the lower level of the museum) on Saturday, December 5th from 1:30 pm to 5 pm. Children may also put one of Santa’s special form letters into his mailbox located in Candy Land before December 19th and he will respond. The museum’s annual “Story Telling and Cookie Decorating Party” is Sunday, December 6th from 2 pm and 4 pm. This year’s story teller is WBNG-TV personality Candace Chapman. The party is free and open to children of all ages who love a good story and will enjoy munching on a cookie they decorated themselves.

The museum’s regular hours (10 am to 4 pm Tuesday through Saturday) will be extended after Thanksgiving to
5 pm Tuesday through Thursday; 8 pm on Friday; 6 pm on Saturday and noon to 5 pm on Sunday.

The last chance to see the trees is Friday, December 18th (10 am to 9 pm) with a snow date of December 20th (noon to 5 pm). High bidders have the privilege of carting away their tree at closing or picking it up on or before December 23. The museum is located at 110 Front Street, Owego, New York, just two doors west of the new bridge and will accept trees from businesses, organizations or individuals throughout the showcase. Anyone wishing to participate may contact O’Tannenbaum Chairperson Gae Crosby at (607) 687-2957 or visit the museum’s website at
www.info@tiogahistory.org for details. Questions may also be referred to the museum’s Executive Director, Roger Sharp, at (607) 687-2460 or e-mail info@tiogahistory.org.