WA aan a “ The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, December 13, 2006 - B1 DUSTIN QUEZADA TERRACE STANDARD CLOCKWISE. from ‘above, the Gunitard family (parents Kenny, Donna and children Sydney and Tommy) finds the tree for them. John Brinkec, ‘background, and Jim» Littlenorse wrap up to 150 trees a day to prevent damage and facilitate handling for bulk sales: Dave Shannon, who searched for his Douglas fir on snowshoes, says: _ the experience was a good cardio workout. Owner Don:Coburn. fells chainsaw. The retiree starts cutting Dec. 1. . Terrace teens on unique trip THREE LOCAL teens are in the Central American country of El Salvador this week, helping distribute Christmas shoeboxes collected by Samaritan’s Purse’s Operation Christmas ~ Child. : “Megan Froese Megan Froese, 18, and twin brothers Caleb and Jo- siah, who will be 15 on Dec. 23, left last week and will be back home Dec. 20. In addition to deliver- ing shoeboxes to children, they’ll each be spending’ IF. THE convenience of a parking. lot Christmas tree isn’t your thing or you’ ve had one too many outings in the woods sporting a saw and the kids in the frigid cold, there’s another. option for filling that empty corner in the living room. Don Coburn | has operated a U-cut tree farm in Old Remo _ for a handful of years. IU's a “side job” for the retiree. He’s busy maintaining the land and trees from April until De- cember, when the work i increases and the time invested pays off. Coburn opens the U-cut farm on the first two weekends of Decettiber and remains open, this year, until Dec. 21. : -and individually to visitors at prices up to $30 each. _ bulk but. Coburn says people come and make an experience out of it. “Tt brings the families out,” ing. ” he used to cut his own Christmas tree in the ‘70s. . ! On an overcast day last week, Shannon brought his dog, a handsaw and a pair of snowshoes. He was sold. = out,” said Shannon, who found a Douglas fir for the family.: _ The Gunitard family was back for second year. The snow was a challenge for the children but it makes for a fun time, said Donna Gunitard. ee To get to the U-cut ‘farm, take Queensway Dr: west, turn , right on Old Remo Rd, left on Matsen Rd and follow* the ‘Signs. It’s open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. He has about 45,000 trees — varieties of fir, pine and spruce — that he sells wholesale td local and regional groups ” Coburn said., “ap Ss an out- - “Dave Shannon of Terrace is a first-time visitor who : says “It was a good experience and it’s a good cardio work-.. U-cut Christmas tree farm offers hands- -on experience 638-7283 Most of the 1,200 trees he sells annually are: bought ine fi a tree with a DUSTIN QUEZADA PHOTOS time with a Salvadoran family, taking -part in. ath- letic activities, working with physicians and doing street evangelical work. ' Froese says ‘her - inter- est in the shoeboxes comes through her grandmother, Eleanor Froese, who is the local shoebox coordinator. “Ever. since I was young, I’d help my grandmother “pack up the shoeboxes and_ Td think that it would be great if I could go where the ' shoeboxes go and my grand- ~ mother would say I should wait until I was older,” Fro- - ese said last week. ‘Just by herself, Froese would put together six or seven shoeboxes a year. A high school graduate this past June, Froese learned more about the idea of going on a shoebox distribution trip and applied online. ‘Ym looking forward to seeing life from a whole other side,” said Froese last week just before she left. She’ll be bringing one shoebox of her own to hand out along with the many oth- ers that will be waiting for. ‘her and her group. Cont’d Page B5 . Read all about it | CASSIE Dusdall, portrays Babe Williams in The Pajama Game, this year’s mu- sical offering from Caledonia Performing Arts. The show enjoyed a successful three-night run Dec. 7-9. DUSTIN QUEZADA PHOTO ~ Around Town 3 “Teen artists host festival _ LIN ORDER for an event to become an annual fixture, it neds to have inaugural. success., That’s exactly. what’ happened — earlier this. year when Skeena Junior Secondary . School - . hosted what it dubs a Fine Arts Fest. ©: Building'on the February event, the school will host its ond annual Skeena Fine Arts Fest Dec. 14. Jazz: band and -drama performances and stu- -~ dent-led art tours throughout will be featured. There will also bea coffee 7 house where patrons can in-: dulge in refreshments’ while listening to students reading . -some of their creative works and solo,: duet and quartet musical performances. ~The Skeena Fine Arts Fest began as an attempt to. provide an organized venue © where students could display their art, says drama teacher Janine Hamming. © “I wanted to provide stu- dents with a place where _ people can appreciate and _ admire their work.. I also wanted to create a relaxed Janine Hamming - . atmosphere where patrons can sit back and enjoy ‘them- _ selves,” she said. - The other acts will be running simultaneously to the cof- fee house, which will run throughout the evening. The j jazz, band performance, the drama shows and the art tours will run twice during the evening, at two separate times. This will, allow patrons the opportunity to choose the time that they wish to attend each performance, said Hamming, who hopes: ' to draw’as many, or more, people as in February. The show runs from 7-9 p.m. \