Stonington ― The Ocean Community Chamber of Commerce plans to begin building its annual Lobster Trap Tree at the Town Dock on Monday, with the lighting slated for Nov. 23 at 4:30 p.m.

This is the fourth year the tree, which attracts tens of thousands of visitors, will be on display. The lighting is the culmination of more than eight months of work and thousands of staff and volunteer hours.

Chamber President Lisa Konicki said that the tree, which pays tribute to Stonington’s fishing fleet, will honor Dan Crotty, the 37-year owner of Crotty & Sons Bodyworks in Charlestown, R.I., who died Oct. 3.

In each of the tree’s first three years, Crotty donated more than $10,000 worth of clear coating to protect the decorative, hand-painted buoys from the elements.

Konicki said the chamber wanted to honor Crotty, his contributions and all he had done for the community and the chamber.

This year, Stiles Gilmore, owner of Westerly Auto Body, donated the clear coating for the 460 buoys that adorn the tree.

Konicki said not many changes will be made to the tree this year, as the addition of traps last year achieved the shape the chamber had been striving for since 2021, when the British Broadcasting Corp. news called the original 25-foot tree “quirky.”

“We liked the tree last year. We felt like we finally struck the right balance,” she said, adding that there was a functional reason behind the decision not to expand, as storing 450 traps, thousands of multi-colored lights, the door and 5½-foot-tall lighted anchor topper was already a challenge.

Konicki estimates that more than 4,000 people attended the tree lighting last year, and over 60,000 people visited the tree during the six weeks it was on display.

The bottom tier of the tree holds 40 buoys painted by children in Stonington at an annual event the chamber hosts at the Stonington Community Center, while the second tier features buoys that celebrate life events like engagements, weddings and memorials to loved ones.

In addition, one row of traps features 24 buoys, each painted with one of the boats in the fishing fleet.

“It was a conscious decision to place it near the Stonington docks so that people get the tie in between the importance of the last commercial fishing village in the State of Connecticut and what it means to all of us to have that resource,” Konicki explained.

The chamber of commerce purchased the buoys and commissioned artists to paint the fishing boats at a cost of $2,520. After the tree closes at 6 p.m. on Jan. 5, 2025, the chamber will give the buoys to the boat captains.

“It’s a major source of pride for our community because it showcases the talents of so many artists from our area, while also putting a spotlight on the efforts of our hard-working fishermen,” she said.

Buoys sponsored by businesses, community members, school groups and non-profit organizations decorate the rest of the tree.

Costs for the holiday display have come down substantially from the initial $45,000 investment, as the chamber is able to reuse traps, lights and the door, but the project is still costly. For example, this year Connecticut and Rhode Island artists were paid more than $18,725 for their work on the buoys, $2,000 more than last year.

Konicki, who said she has spent more than 1,000 hours on the project this year, did not yet have a total cost for 2024.

Konicki said the chamber’s small staff could not take on the project without the efforts, talent and generosity of residents, volunteers and business owners, including those who will begin building the tree on Monday.

“The result of this community project that brings together the talents and the hearts of so many people is it ends up being a tremendous tourism attraction and has exceeded everyone’s expectations for the volume of visitors that come each year to see the tree and to make it part of their holiday tradition,” she said.

Konicki said anyone interested in volunteering as a docent, to share facts about the tree with visitors, take photos and provide gentle reminders to not touch the delicate buoys, can sign up on the chamber’s website, www.oceanchamber.org.

Editor’s note: This version corrects the spelling of Charlestown, R.I.