• Plans already underway for the 2024 festival.
Over 1600 people attended the first Star Valley Festival of Trees with a Gingerbread House Contest and Wonderland Walk on November 24 and 25 at Gather on 89.
Five trees from the Star Valley Chamber of Commerce, Top of the Rockies Club, Sno-Skippers Snowmobile Club, Rev It Up Girls and Bank of Jackson Hole were on display.
The Christmas Cafe for the event sold over 500 lunches.
Star Valley’s food pantries in Alpine, Thayne and Afton were the recipients of over $14,000 in contributions. Proceeds were divided three ways equally.
Julie Buckley, director of the Thayne Food Bank pointed out that contributions can be expanded to 14 times further beyond the original donations.
For example in the case of the $14,000 raised, the funding is expanded to $196,000 worth of food and non-food products through the assistance of purchases made through the national food bank, Feeding America and the Wyoming Food Bank.
Organizers report that plans are already underway for the 2024 festival.
“We have good goals for next year as far as Christmas trees and gingerbread houses, said Bethany Packard overseeing the event. We have the expectations set as we move forward.”
She concluded, “I’m just so proud of our community, look what they did it’s just amazing!”
