In Saturday morning, Nov. 29, Waldoboro fisherman Clint Collamore pulled up in front of the Waldo Theatre, in Waldoboro, with more than a few dozen lobster traps on the back of his truck.

Three hours later, with the help of fellow fisherman Buddy Murray and his wife Sierra, Theatre board member Barbara Boardman took on the lights, unrolling wheels of them that were draped and threaded through the traps.

The tree is the brainchild of Barbara Boardman, who remembered how Waldoboro used to have a gigantic tree in the center of the village festooned with lights.  

“It was the place to gather around, either to sing carols, meet up with Santa Claus or simply to enjoy when driving by," she said, in a news release from the theater. "And since The Waldo Theatre has a nice yard along Main Street I thought maybe we could create one.”

So, she called Clint Collamore, and he said yes, and called around, the release said.

Buddy and Sierra Poland answered the call amid a house full of family and a million holiday chores, and the volunteers built the lobster tree, one, two, three. 

Being the fisherman he is, Collamore said: “We did it today because weather is coming in.  I’ll come back another day to decorate it with lobster buoys.”

For Boardman, it was a matter of civic pride

“I think it’s important to see lights in the village," she said. "They make us feel part of something.”

For Collamore, it was also that.

“I think it’s very important to keep places like the Waldo going," he said. "And the Waldo Theatre is the kind of place that gives people opportunities that they’ve never had before, like the Talent Show.  It makes me happy to build a ‘tree’ here.”  

Boardman said the inside of the theater is full of sparkling holiday decorations, thanks to another volunteer, George Bates, the release said.

Programming reflects the holiday spirit, too, with movies, such as The Holiday and the crowd favorite The Muppet Christmas Carol Sing-a-long.

And there will be a seasonal favorite with the Heather Pierson Trio performing a “Charlie Brown Christmas” concert, which will certainly get folks in the mood for the holidays.

As all the members of staff and board chorus: “Visit.  See our ‘tree’ and catch a whiff of the ocean, too.  And celebrate the holidays at The Waldo!” 

Craft Cinema with The Holiday screens on Sunday, December 7, at 4 p.m.

Muppet Christmas Carol Sing-Along shows on Sunday, December 14, at 2 p.m.

Heather Pierson Trio performs on Friday, December 19, at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets are  now on sale at thewaldotheatre.org.