Festival of Trees still going strong |
| December 27, 2013 |
|
They'd have loved to have seen more trees and
participation, but organizers of this year's
18th annual Fry Foundation Festival of Trees are
pretty happy; the event raised about $33,000 and
donations are still coming in. "It is so amazing the support we get from our small community," said Linda Hiatt, who once again headed up the year-long volunteer effort this year. "We would love to have more trees and Christmas-oriented items, but it's not always easy to find businesses or people willing to go to this expense." Still, she said, the tree that were there were beautiful and the Christmas spirit alive and well in our community. Linda had a new little elf helper this year, her daughter Tamara Hiatt. "I got the opportunity to help this year and it was amazing," she said. "A lot of work, but amazing." Linda said that one of the comments she keeps hearing is that they would like to see more variety; things for men, travel and baskets being just a few examples of what festival-goers would like to see. "We will accept anything anyone is willing to give!" she said. You can be sure that your ideas, requests and suggestions have been heard and will be factored into the planning of next year's Festival of Trees, which, believe it or not, has already begun. It's never too late, or early, to volunteer. "There are always more trees needed, help throughout the year putting it all together, and then the hustle and bustle of setting up, transporting trees and the myriad other things it takes to make the Fry Foundation Festival of Trees the premier Christmas gala each year in Boundary County. To find out more, visit http://www.fryhealthcarefoundation.org. |