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Glitter and All: Decorated trees on display at the Annual Brenner Children's Hospital Festival of Trees have stories to tell
Journal Photo by Bruce Chapman
Enjoying the festival are (from left) Elijah Atkins, 7, of Mocksville; Ethan Lanier, 5, of Winston-Salem; and Tanner Atkins, 6, of Mocksville.
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Published: November 22, 2009
Topped with a black witch's hat, a Wizard of Oz-themed tree attracted a lot of looks yesterday at the 22nd Annual Brenner Children's Hospital Festival of Trees.
"It's tremendous," said Tom Cartwright of Clemmons, as he and his wife, Kim, looked the tree up and down in the Education Building at the Dixie Classic Fairgrounds. "It's got all the central characters of the Wizard of Oz."
The tree decorated by the Charity Chicks, one of the local teams that dressed up the 40 "large" 7-to-8-feet-tall trees displayed at the festival.
The Cartwrights noticed the Oz tree when they saw the ruby-red slippers that adorned the witch's feet sticking out from under the tree.
The Festival of Trees is an annual fundraiser for Brenner Children's Hospital. It was started in 1987 by the volunteer group Friends of Brenner Children's Hospital.
Each year, the group sets up a wintry village that has become a traditional holiday attraction for many families in the Triad.
Mary Hunter of Winston-Salem said that she and her sister, Jeannine DuMond of Greensboro, have brought their families to the Festival of Trees for the past six years.
"We just love it," Hunter said. "I love supporting Brenner, but, also, it just kicks off the season for us."
The 2009 Festival of Trees will continue today from noon to 5 p.m. Admission is $6 for adults and $3 for children ages 2 through 12.
In addition to the trees, which are sold, there are gingerbread houses, specialty shops, 25 vendors, activities for children, entertainment, raffles and visits with Santa. There are auctions for gingerbread houses and celebrity ornaments signed by such entertainers as actress Katherine Heigl and singers Jessica Simpson and Carrie Underwood.
Ragan Folan, the past president of the Friends of Brenner Children's Hospital, said that despite the current economic climate, people are still supporting Brenner.
She expects that this year's Festival of Trees will bring in the same amount of money as last year, which was $104,000.
"I think it's because so many people have been touched by Brenner and served by Brenner," she said. "A number of these trees were decorated by families in thanks for the hospital."
Cindy Caines, the development-events coordinator for Brenner Children's Hospital, did not have an attendance number for yesterday's festival but was pleased with the size of the crowds she saw and expects to see a lot more people today.
"We've been a lot busier than we've been in the past," she said.
Organizers said that 3,800 people attended the Festival of Trees in 2008.
All the large trees in this year's Festival of Trees had a story to tell and people attending the festival could read those stories on displays beside the trees.
For example, The Charity Chicks with their Oz-themed tree was meant to inspire women to give to others.
Ethan's Angels for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation decked out their "Gone Fishin' for a Cure" tree in angling decor, including a fisherman's hat, wooden fish and rods and reels. It was to tell the story of a 6-year-old with diabetes named Ethan who looks forward to a lifetime of fishing with his father.
Mary Alspaugh and Betty Sutton have volunteered to decorate trees for 16 years. The tree they trimmed this year featured traditional red, green and gold ornaments and a vine garland with red berries.
The Magic of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular tour, starring the Rockettes, sent decorations this year for festival volunteers to display on a tree.
Jennifer Alexander of Lewisville bought a miniature tree decorated by the Forsyth County Carolina Club that she called the "UNC Carolina Tree" to support Brenner and for another reason.
"I'm a huge Tar Heels fan," she said.
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