Butler Downtown refurbishing lights on Main Street’s snowflakes
Although spring is in bloom in Butler County, there are still several snowflakes that refuse to melt, some having been around since 1994.
On April 9, members of Butler Downtown and student volunteers from Slippery Rock University picked up these snowflakes — mechanical lights the city nonprofit has used to illuminate Main Street for decades — to strip them of their bulbs and skeletons.
Krista Washkau, board secretary of Butler Downtown and chairwoman of the promotions committee, said the lights are being refurbished, and the organization is selling their parts to raise money for their renovation.
“This year while we refurbish them we are going to replace the LED bulbs,” Washkau said. “We are estimating (the refurbishment) could be up to $10,000. Anything we can reuse or resell we are going to try to do that to raise the money.”
The refurbishment of Butler Downtown’s old snowflake lights is phase two of the Christmas decoration campaign. The first phase was completed last year when the nonprofit raised about $18,000 to buy 20 new lights.
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