LUTZ, Fla. — An annual Christmas event in Lutz is celebrating its 28th year by honoring one of its founding members who died in October.

What You Need To Know

  • The Old Lutz School started its 28th annual Christmas event December 10

  • The theme, according to organizers, is the nutcracker in honor of Phyllis Hoedt, who passed away in October

  • According to the Citizens for the Old Lutz School, who are running the event, Hoedt was instrumental in keeping the school building from being destroyed in the 1970's and helped make it a historical landmark

  • The Christmas event is free and takes place every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 6-8:30 p.m. through the week of Christmas

Phyllis Hoedt worked hard in the 1970s to preserve the Old Lutz School on Highway 41 and helped start a holiday event at the building that will begin welcoming guests Tuesday night.

Wally Hoedt, Phyllis’ son, has been painting and putting together model trains for years, which are now put on display at the event every December.

“My dad had an old train, and he put it up when I was really little,” he said. “The 'oohs' and 'ahs' make it worth doing. And they say it brings back a lot of memories of their trains and Christmas that they did in the past.”

But the trains aren’t the only reminder of Christmas past, because the event is set inside the Old Lutz School, a building that almost was demolished in the 1970s until Phyllis helped raise money to stop it.

“The group got together and decided the funds were going to help save the school,” Wally said.

Phyllis helped create the organization Citizens for the Old Lutz School and every year, for 28 years now, that group puts out incredible displays of the holidays, usually with a central theme.

This year, that theme is the nutcracker, which hits close to home for Wally.

“She just got them somewhere,” he said, referring to his mom. “I don’t know how many hundreds.”

They meant a lot to her.

So, in October, when Phyllis passed away, the organization knew what their theme would be.

“We've got nutcrackers galore,” said Stephanie Ensor, community liaison for the Citizens for the Old Lutz School. “It just brings me so much happiness to see the spotlight on her, because without her, we wouldn't be doing this in this historic landmark.”

According to Ensor, in the center of their massive nutcracker display is a new nutcracker with a base that honors Phyllis.

“You always have a piece of the people that you've lost that are no longer with us,” Ensor said. “If you keep those traditions alive, they’re always with you.”

For some, that piece could be a simple model train set or an angelic nutcracker honoring his mom.

The Old Lutz School Christmas event begins Dec. 10 and runs every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday night from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. through Christmas week.

Admission is free and they will have barrels set out to collect toys and non-perishable food items for families in need.