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Maya Jasmine Douglas passed away at the age of 6 in 2008 and her family placed a plaque on a tree to honor her short life. She is a catalyst for a new holiday celebration "Christmas on the Vista."
Maya Jasmine Douglas passed away at the age of 6 in 2008 and her family placed a plaque on a tree to honor her short life. She is a catalyst for a new holiday celebration "Christmas on the Vista."
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BISBEE — A new holiday event may be in the future as a few people hope to hold a holiday celebration at Vista Park in Warren with an anticipated date of Saturday, Dec. 10.
Heather Glenn and Rachael Allee are testing the waters to see how much community support can be mustered to light up Vista Park and the Warren community.
The city may partner with the Historic Warren Community to create an old–fashioned Christmas in Bisbee if the city council approves.
City Manager Steve Pauken said the mayor and council may hold a work session on the request and determine whether the Vista celebration would replace the downtown Main Street Festival of Lights.
Bisbee’s “Christmas on the Vista” will combine many popular activities from the Festival of Lights with some new ones to offer a wealth of exciting holiday events in Warren’s Vista Park, said Glenn.
She stated in an email, “Imagine the neighborhoods and hills throughout Bisbee illuminated by holiday lights and decorations as neighbors jingle bells beckoning Santa to our creative little Bisbee community. A Christmas tree lighting ceremony will kick off a lively community holiday festival where residents, children and visitors enjoy games, activities and performances celebrating the season, shop for unique hand–crafted items, while sipping hot cocoa and snacking on treats made by local vendors and watching children confide their deepest wishes to Santa.”
Glenn noted it is a vision that Allee has tried to fulfill since she moved to the neighborhood 10 years ago. Last year, she encouraged several neighbors living around Vista Park to decorate their homes for children to enjoy the lights and decorations and boost the holiday spirit. Their plans include lining the trees around Vista Park with hundreds of tiny twinkling lights to light Santa’s way to deliver presents to the children of Bisbee.
“But we need the community’s help to make all these plans possible,” said Glenn. “Businesses and residents may sponsor the lights on a tree around the park to celebrate the season or remember a loved one. All trees will have lights, a large ‘ornament’ attached on the street side and a ground marker stating, 'Sponsored By' or 'In Memory Of' by the day after Thanksgiving.”
As Allee researched and cataloged the trees to decorate around the lower Vista, she found a plaque hanging from one of them that displayed the photo of a young girl named Maya Jasminie Douglas. Maya passed away at just 6 years of age battling an autoimmune disorder in 2008. She spent the last 30 months of her life in and out of Phoenix Children’s Hospital and her family utilized the Ronald McDonald House during her illness.
The family holds a toy drive every year and donates the toys to the hospital and the Ronald McDonald House on Maya’s birthday, May 10. Maya’s artwork is used to decorate the fliers for the toy drive.
“Turns out Maya was quite the artist, as the family has almost a dozen binders filled with pictures drawn by her,” added Glenn. “Maya was in the hospital a lot during the holidays, but one favorite memory is of Maya wearing her lighted, blinking Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer nose.”
They hope to find a chorus to sing “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” at the holiday event and will sell red-nosed reindeer kits containing antlers and a blinking nose for $10 with the proceeds going to the Ronald McDonald House. Donations of new, unwrapped toys in Maya’s memory will be accepted.
They are looking for performers, craft and food vendors, tree sponsors and volunteers for the event. To participate as a performer or vendor, call Lorena Valdez at Public Works, 520-432–6002 or 520-432–6001.
To sponsor a tree, purchase a reindeer kit, offer space for a toy collection box or volunteer, call Rachel Allee at 520-234-4428 or email BisbeesChristmasontheVista@gmail.com. Toy collection boxes will be located at Bisbee Books & Music at 2 Main St., the Community Church of Warren at 201 S. Arizona St.t and St. Patrick Roman Catholic Parish at 100 Quality Hill Road. For details visit www.bisbeeaz.gov or www.HistoricWarrenCommunity.org.
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