So Many Trees

During my six and a half years at Image International, there was really only one absolute certainty: we were working New Year's Day. For several years before I got there until the year after I left, the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress had a "Vienna Woods" New Year's Eve party. I like to make up stories, so my invention about this event is that Al Caputo realized that every Christmas tree lot in Orange County had trees left over on Christmas Day. These trees had to be disposed of somehow. What could he do with them to make money? Hmmm

So every year on Christmas morning, Al and every cheap labor employee he could rope into it set out with the semi and went to every tree lot in Greater Orlando, picking up every leftover tree - for free! The owners were happy to get rid of them - for free! Unlike most Caputo deals, everybody made out on the deal. The semi, crammed full of trees, returned to the shop, cheap wire stands were screwed to the bottoms, they were flocked with fake snow and stuffed back into the semi.

As soon as the biggest ballroom at the Hyatt was free, we went in, set up the stage and installed The Vienna Castle set, put mirror panels around the room and the trees started coming in. Only about a quarter of them came inside. Early in the morning of New Year's Eve the main entrance and the drive leading up to it were closed off. Al, his decorators and his Goofies (laborers) lined the portico and the driveway with trees and fake snow. If Eddie or I were called out there it was to set up a teflon skating rink nestled in the trees. As night fell and the lighting was turned on you'd swear you were in a pine forest. They shuttled guests from the parking lot in horse-drawn carriages, and they were surrounded by trees and snow until they went home. The Florida Symphony was the entertainment, and a splendid time was had by all.

New Year's Day was the strike. When Vienna was the only party, shop guys came out, took down the set and stayed until everything was loaded up. The biggest crew was taking cheap wire stands off tree bottoms and feeding them into a chipper truck rented for the occasion.

After "O Ghost Who Walks" and then "Jurassic New Year" were added, Eddie struck a deal that we would start at 7:00, go from hotel to hotel to hotel and disassemble every piece, then go home, leaving the cheap labor to load it all out. Another win-win situation

I'll leave this reminiscence with the words of a song sung by Curtis Hayes, one of the goofiest of the Image International goofies. It's sung to the tune of O Tannenbaum.

Hyatt Regency, Hyatt Regency
Why do you need so many trees?
We cannot lean them against your walls
We cannot leave them in your halls
Hyatt Regency, Hyatt Regency
Why do you need so many trees?