STONINGTON, Conn. — It’s the fourth annual year of lighting the Lobster Trap Tree in Stonington, and many people came out to see the tree get lit for the first time this season Saturday evening.
“The tree is made of 460 tracks that are brand new, and it is adorned with 460 buoys that are all hand-painted by amazingly talented artists from all over Connecticut and Rhode Island,” Lisa Konicki, founder of the Stonington Lobster Trap Tree, said.
Brady Mullen and Patrick McGugan attended the event on Nov. 23.
“I grew up in Maryland, and we had nothing like this. So to have the community come together like this, it's a lot of fun and it makes us really feel together,” Mullen said.
McGugan says it's awesome having an initiative everybody can get behind.
The Lobster Trap Tree is an incredible tradition and is a labor of love, according to Konicki.
“It brings a lot of joy to the community and it's our welcome mat to invite people to the town of Stonington and enjoy the holidays,” said Konicki, who is also the president of the Ocean Community Chamber of Commerce.
Artists from Connecticut and Rhode Island, businesses, fishermen, local government officials and the Chamber of Commerce collaborated to bring the tree to life.
Konicki got the idea after seeing the lobster trap tree in Gloucester, Mass. five years ago.
“I was fascinated by it. And as I walked around the tree, I said, 'Why doesn't Stonington have something like this? We have the last commercial fishing village in the state of Connecticut,' and I thought that this was an appropriate place to build a tree,” Konicki said. "And I put together an amazing team of volunteers that helped that vision come to fruition.”
This year, the tree is dedicated to a special person from Rhode Island named Daniel Crotty.
“And for the first three years of this tree, he generously donated the clear coating of every single buoy, so it had a thick, UV protected clear coating. And it was about a $13,000 contribution,” Konicki said.
On the front of the tree, you’ll find his name and picture painted on one of the buoys.
“He loved the art. He loved the project in general. Unfortunately, we lost Dan in October, and so we wanted to honor him and memorialize him,” Konicki said.
Mullen and McGugan say having this in their city helps them appreciate the little things in life and realize they shouldn’t take things for granted.
Viewing the tree is free to the public. For those who decide to come, it is important to remember not to touch the tree or buoys.
The lobster trap tree will be lit every night between 4:30-9:30 p.m. until Jan. 5, and it will be lit from 4:30-6 p.m. that evening.
Following Jan. 5, Konicki says the traps used to create this year’s tree will be stored in an office until next year.
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Cayla Cade is a reporter at FOX61 News. She can be reached at ccade@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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