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Feature Article December 4

Feature Article December 4, 2003

LAND O' LAKES NewsWeb Home

Festival of Trees Keeps on growing

The Villages Beautiful crew are gearing up for the fourth Annual Festival of Trees, December 11-13, at the Oso Hall in Sharbot Lake. The festival is the major fundraising event for Villages Beautiful, a volunteer group devoted to improving the villages in Central Frontenac.

The Festival is more than a fundraiser, however. It has become a cherished event, drawing more people every year. Admission to the Festival of Trees is free (a donation of food or money to the North Frontenac Food Bank is welcome), and money is raised through the sale of tickets, which are placed in boxes next to the trees. At the end of the weekend, the boxes will be opened and one ticket will be pulled from each box to determine who will get to take the tree home.

Due to the size of the hall, there has been a limited number of trees available to decorate, and for the past two years the trees have all been spoken for within a day of the announcement going in the paper. This year, there will also be 8 entries in the Wreath and Wall hangings category, 6 gingerbread houses, and 8 entries in the Anything Goes Category. The cut off for entries in these categories is Friday, December 5.

The success of the Festival of Trees over the past three years has been mainly due to the active organizing committee. The 17-member group, who come together from all corners of the township, meet only twice. People are just given their jobs, and they go out and do them. Its the committee that makes the festival happen, says Festival organiser Rosemarie Bowick.

The Festival really starts on Wednesday night, the day before the official opening, when the people arrive to decorate the trees. Businesses and institutions from throughout the township are represented, and there is a buzz in the Hall all evening as the trees are trimmed, the gingerbread houses and wreaths are put up, and the walls are decorated with childrens art.

On Thursday morning the judges arrive, and spend two hours determining winners in all the categories. After that, the general public is invited to an Opening Day Lunch at 12:00, which will be held this year at the Sharbot Lake Country Inn, where a very reasonably priced lunch special is available. At the lunch, the award winners will be announced and the Festival itself opens at 1:00 p.m.

This year, through some generous donations, all of the school children in Central Frontenac, and students from Clarendon Central School in Plevna, will be bussed for free to the festival.

For the second year, the participants in the Seeking Alternatives program will be participating in the festival. On Thursday night, December 11, at 6:30, they will be sponsoring a Jingle Bell walk, which will commence at the Township Hall on Elizabeth Street.

All participants will be given a jingle bell, and the walkers will be accompanied to the Festival of Trees by the singing group Gopher Baroque. Once they reach the Festival, the exterior lights at the Hall will be lit in a short ceremony. Free hot chocolate and coffee will then be available at the Oso fire hall. And of course, Jingle Bell Walkers will be able to have a look at the trees and decorations in the Festival, which stays open until 9 on Thursday.

Seeking Alternatives will also be sponsoring photos with Santa on Friday, December 12 between 4 and 7 pm, and Saturday, December 13, between 10 am and 3 pm. The cost of the photos is $5.00. This covers two poses, and four 3 by 5 prints. All proceeds will be donated to Villages Beautiful.

There will be musical entertainment throughout the three day Festival (see schedule below). The boxes will be opened and the winning tickets will be drawn at 4:00 on Saturday afternoon.

With the participation of the Government of Canada