With Christmas just a few weeks away, the Festival of Trees has returned to the Jasper-Yellowhead Museum and Archives.
The fundraiser will begin Nov. 19 at the museum where dozens of beautifully decorated trees will be up for auction.
“We started with 14 trees and now we’re up to more than 40 trees so it’s really come a long way,” said Anna Marie Couture, who’s organizing the event.
The St. Mary and St. George Anglican Church started the creative event in 2001, and in 2003 it became a joint fundraiser with the museum. In 2004 the museum took over the event and has become one of its most successful fundraisers.
Last year’s affair collected around $6,000 for the museum.
“It’s huge for us and very important. It’s events like this that keep us afloat,” Couture said. “It’s also events like this that remind us how great the community is. We couldn’t do it without the community.”
The highlight of the fundraiser—beyond the extravagantly decorated trees—is the wine and cheese reception. This year it will take place on Dec. 15 from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at the museum, giving community members an opportunity to get together and bid.
The highest bidders, as of 3 p.m. on Dec. 17, will take home the trees, along with the accompanying decorations and gifts found beneath them.
Each year the trees, both large and small, are decorated by individuals, organizations and businesses and donated to the museum for the annual fundraiser.
“We have a lot of the same people that come out every year—it’s kind of become a tradition for some people,” Couture said. “People get very creative and have a lot of fun. I think that’s what makes this fundraiser so successful.
“It’s just something different.”
The museum is open Thursday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Kayla Byrne [email protected]
