PROVINCETOWN – “This lady came by the other day,” said George Perez, as he was cutting red ribbons from the iconic lobster pot Christmas tree surrounding a giant anchor in Lopes Square. “And she said, “Don’t take it down. It’s the only bright thing in the whole town.”
George Perez begins to dismantle the lobster pot Christmas tree
But the holiday season is coming to an end in Provincetown. According to Perez, the “tree” is comprised of 125 lobster pots. It was put up by artist Julian Popko and his family.
Perez, 60, of Truro, said he is friends with the family, and that he was there starting the process of dismantling the seasonal display.
Lobster pot Christmas tree
There are lights to remove. Ribbons to remove. A lot to do before a truck comes to take the lobster pots back to the people who donated their use, said Perez.
Some of the lobster pots were in yards. Others will soon be in the ocean, he said.
One of the most difficult things about moving the pots, he said, was that there are bricks in them, which makes them heavy. Plus he said, sometimes a lobster pot will have one less brick in it, making it difficult to balance.
The lobster pot Christmas tree went up, he said, on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. There are lights on it and a top piece that must be lifted by a crane. On the day it is lit, Perez said, “there is a countdown. People are partying.”
And now? Perez quietly removed another red ribbon on this late January afternoon. The streets were empty.
