Sadly, he passed away this year, and the tree went into disrepair. Upon learning of this, the town's people rallied, with a small group leading the charge. A call went out for used buoys, and people donated loads of them.
They got a permit to display the new tree on the Town Green. Yesterday, the frame was delivered, and they assembled the new tree.
Tonight, the tree will be lit as a town-wide event. Part 2 of this post will feature those photos.
ETA: Here's the backstory of the original tree and the new one:
For those that don’t know the back story of this tree, it was created by Jimmy Filliman, a native Cape Codder who’s family many of us grew up with. The pieces were all found objects that Jimmy collected as he walked the beaches & and used to build assorted treasures including this phenomenal buoy tree. It was estimated at consisting of 200+ buoys, that he individually hand tied to a beautiful piece of driftwood for the trunk. It was a wonderful, beautiful, and creative way to recycle and reuse items to make this gorgeous and TRUE Cape Cod Christmas Tree. Jimmy passed away tragically this past Spring due to complications of diabetes & I’m helping to coordinate this community project to rebuild as similar a model as we can do justice on the town green in Eastham as a memorial to him, and for his family this holiday season.
