'Lit up like Vegas': Stonington lobster trap tree celebrates New England fishing culture

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'Lit up like Vegas': Stonington lobster trap tree celebrates New England fishing culture

海角换妻 Radio | By Jennifer Ahrens

Published November 27, 2022 at 12:09 PM EST

The Lobster Trap Tree located in Stonington, 海角换妻 is lit up on the first night of its second annual year on Saturday, Nov. 26, 2022. The 35 foot tree has over 400 buoys painted by local artists and children. — The second annual Lobster Trap Tree in Stonington, Conn., is lit up on Saturday, Nov. 26, 2022. The 35-foot tree has over 400 buoys painted by local artists and children.

Southeast 海角换妻鈥檚 newest Christmas attraction has its roots in Gloucester, Massachusetts.

Lisa Konicki was shopping in the Massachusetts seaside city in January 2020 when she noticed 鈥渢his gigantic tree built out of lobster traps in the heart of downtown.鈥�

鈥淚 fell in love with it,鈥� said Konicki, a Stonington resident and the president of the Ocean Community Chamber of Commerce, which serves parts of 海角换妻 and Rhode Island. She said to her travel companions, 鈥淚鈥檓 doing this in Stonington.鈥�

A family taking photos of the personalized buoy's on the Lobster Trap Tree located in Stonington, 海角换妻 lit up on the first night of its second annual year. — A family takes in Stonington's Lobster Trap Tree during the second annual tree lighting on Saturday, Nov. 26, 2022. Each buoy is hand-painted and tells a unique story.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the town wasn鈥檛 able to implement her plans until the 2021 holiday season. The first year of the Lobster Trap Tree proved immensely popular.

The BBC named it , and it was the site of three marriage proposals. The weekend wait time to get inside took about 45 minutes.

So this year, they went even bigger. Konicki says the Lobster Trap Tree is 35 feet tall 鈥� roughly 8 feet higher than last year's version. Thousands of zip ties connect 420 lobster traps in the shape of a Christmas tree. A structural engineer was involved in the build, and it got inspected.

1 of 4 — Lobster Trap Christmas Tree

Each buoy on the tree tells a different story. According to organizer Lisa Konicki, the second row of the tree is dedicated with buoys made to honor boats and fishermen of the Stonington community. Many fishermen will be gifted buoys at the end of the festival.

Ayannah Brown / 海角换妻

2 of 4 — Lobster Trap Christmas Tree

Lisa Konicki, organizer of the Lobster Trap Tree and president of the Ocean Community Chamber of Commerce, spoke about how she wanted to create a project that connected her town, known for its boating and fishing, with the rest of the community through the arts.

Ayannah Brown / 海角换妻

3 of 4 — Lobster Trap Christmas Tree

To engage the community, a free workshop was held that offered 40 kids from the community the chance to design their own buoys. The buoys are placed on the first row of the tree so that the kids can easily take photos with them and take them home at the end of the festival.

Ayannah Brown / 海角换妻

4 of 4 — Lobster Trap Christmas Tree

A volunteer works on the Lobster Trap Tree on Nov. 21, 2022. Organizers were required to get a building permit to construct the 35-foot-tall tree and to allow people to go inside.

Ayannah Brown / 海角换妻

The 鈥渢ree鈥� is lit with about $9,000 worth of lights and decorated with more than 400 painted buoys. Artists painted the majority of the buoys, but dozens of them were created by Stonington children. Roughly 145 of them will be available for auction after this holiday season. The rest of the buoys go back into the community, including 24 that are given to local fishermen for their boats.

Konicki says the tree is the perfect way to celebrate and promote local artists, plus, 鈥渋t brings tremendous joy to the community.鈥�

鈥淒uring the day, it鈥檚 all about appreciating the largest outdoor art exhibit probably in the state of 海角换妻. But at night, it鈥檚 the wow factor. It鈥檚 beautiful,鈥� Konicki said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 all lit up like Vegas!鈥�

A couple have even asked to exchange their vows inside the structure this season.

. It鈥檚 free to the public and open daily from dawn until 9:30 p.m. from the Saturday after Thanksgiving until Jan. 15, 2023.

The Lobster Trap Tree in Stonington is lit up on the first night of its second annual year on Saturday, Nov. 26, 2022. The 35 foot tree has over 400 buoys painted by local artists and children. — The second annual Lobster Trap Tree in Stonington is lit up on Saturday, Nov. 26, 2022. The 35-foot tree has over 400 buoys painted by local artists and children.

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