BRIGHT IDEA: THE CURBSIDE FOREST
Where: Mount Prospect, IllinoisHow It Happens: Each holiday season, Rosemary Hinkemeyer's neighborhood sprouts a fantasy forest of glittering evergreens. Their appearance on front lawns up and down aptly named South Pine Street isn't the result of magic, but of the largesse of a local Christmas tree dealer, who sells 6-foot pines to the group at a discount. The evergreens are delivered to a designated location on the block, and folks haul them home and "plant" them by the sidewalk in front of their houses. To keep the trees standing in winter winds, they're tethered to 4-foot metal fence posts hammered into the ground. Then the real fun begins, as families emerge from their homes with strands of lights and other weatherproof ornaments and start trimming.
Truly Magical Moment: When the trees are lit up together against the December darkness, the effect, Rosemary says, "is awesome." "Our block," she adds, "is the talk of the village. One year, we won the 'best block' award -- and we hadn't even entered the contest."
