Downtown Sylvania makes cover of national publication

6/30/2018
BY AREEBA SHAH
BLADE STAFF WRITER
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    Downtown Sylvania's 'Under the Lights' display was recognized on the front cover of Bronner's CHRISTmas Wonderland annual commercial display catalog.

  • A photo of downtown Sylvania dressed up with Christmas lights was featured on the cover of the 2018-2019 Bronner's CHRISTmas Wonderland annual commercial display catalog.

    Downtown Sylvania's 'Under the Lights' display was recognized on the front cover of Bronner's CHRISTmas Wonderland annual commercial display catalog.
    Downtown Sylvania's 'Under the Lights' display was recognized on the front cover of Bronner's CHRISTmas Wonderland annual commercial display catalog.

    The popular catalog cover from the iconic Frankenmuth, Mich.-based company shows an image from the “Downtown Sylvania Under the Lights” project. Sylvania undertook that tree-lighting project in Dec. 2016 to add ambience to the city, said Michelle Sprott, Sylvania Area Chamber of Commerce executive director.

    The $40,000 project, funded by the Sylvania chamber, wasn't completed until fall of 2017. Strings of lights hanging between buildings along Main Street created a canopy of year-round bubble lights.

    Jeff Boersma, Modern Data president and chief executive officer as well as 2016-2017 Sylvania Chamber of Commerce chairman, said the project took almost nine months.

    “We're looking forward to making Sylvania a great destination and showcasing everything it has to offer,” Mr. Boersma said.

    The chamber collaborated with the city of Sylvania, JDRM Engineering, Bronner’s, AA Boos, Lake Erie Electric, the Stansley Group, Unverferth Architecture, Reve Salon and Spa and Sylvania Studios.

    While Bronner's has supplied lights to Sylvania in the past, this was the first tree-lighting project the two collaborated on, Sylvania Mayor Craig Stough said.

    Bronner's showcased the photo of Sylvania to provide a new feel to its catalog, said Brian Goff, Bronner’s display consultant.

    Sylvania follows the Columbus suburb of Dublin, Ohio, as the second Ohio city to be featured in the catalog.

    “The Sylvania chamber had a clear concept, and everything just came together from there,” Mr. Goff said.

    The catalog is distributed to more than 5,500 cities across the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, and Guam.

    The Sylvania Area Chamber of Commerce didn't know it was on the cover until the catalog was mailed out, Ms. Sprott said.

    Mr. Stough said he was “really happy to see the picture” of Sylvania distributed to such a wide audience.

    The photo has received hundreds of likes on Facebook, he said.

    New LED white lights will remain lit year-round. In addition to the bubble lights that created a globelike scene, large grape vines were included around Christmas time.

    Mr. Boersma said the chamber and Bronner’s are talking about doing another lighting project in the future.