For the past 68 years, the Belmont Lions Club has sold trees out of its home base on Common Street, beneath the Belmont Center train stop.
“We raise money and we sell a lot of trees,” said President Ken Krilla. “We spend about 30 days prepping and selling and it’s all just to help others. That’s really our tradition—helping our community.”
This year, the sale will run weekly, Monday through Friday, from 1 to 8 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sales continue until the trees, supplied annually from Nova Scotia, run out.
“With over 2,000 trees, everyone finds the perfect tree,” Krilla said. “Everyone is happy.”
The trees, which range in price from $30 to $140 depending on size, are the Lions’ annual fundraiser for the Massachusetts Lions Eye Research Fund, established in the 1950s and which has raised more than $42 million.
In addition to sales, customers can also donate to a more local or personal organization, one chosen each year by the club’s president. As president, Krilla opted to name Oxford-based The Bardon Center for Diabetes Education as this year’s “tip jar” beneficiary.
“This year it’s a little closer to home as the president,” he said. “I’ve been living with Type 1 diabetes for over 40 years.”
A team of 60 members plus additional community volunteers, including local high school or college students, will help with the tree sales. Krilla said there would be a day crew of mostly retired individuals, and then four rotating teams of evening volunteers.
“We’re just trying to make a difference in our community,” he said. “We’re neighbors helping neighbors.”
Customers can also buy wreaths, mantle garlands, and a variety of other holiday items, according to Krilla. Trees typically sell out by mid-December, around Dec. 18.
Krilla said each year, he meets or hears from some families who have been coming to the sale for years, and others who are purchasing their first tree from the Lions. He’s known people to come as far as Vermont, or pull up to the sale with a red wagon to load their tree into.
“That’s the great thing,” he said. “It’s a tradition people are continuing or a tradition they just started.”