• Over 1200 visitors attended the event.
The Second Annual Star Valley Festival of Trees welcomed 12 trees, 51 gingerbread houses, and over 1200 guests to Gather at the Star of 89 on Friday and Saturday, November 29-30. In addition to the display of trees and gingerbread houses, the event offered lunch both days through the Christmas Café, a Breakfast with Santa on Saturday morning. All proceeds from the event go to support the three food pantries in Star Valley throughout this holiday season.
Abbie Aullman, the festival committee member who hosted the new offering of Breakfast with Santa,” helped SVI Media understand the impact of each dollar raised through the festival. “All six dentists in the valley sponsored a table for [Breakfast with Santa]. With the food donated, ticket sales of $500, and each dentist providing a Bronze sponsorship of $500, the event raised $3,500. Many people might not know, but the food banks are able to work with a really neat organization, the Rocky Mountain Food Bank, and turn that $3,500 into eight times that amount! So while the event was meant to be a fun way to make a memory, it also meant $28,000 to the local food banks to help a lot of families in their most difficult times.”
Trees donated by local businesses for the festival, and gingerbread houses submitted for the decorating contest, earned funds through a silent auction and raffle options. Silver Star’s platinum level sponsorship brought $2000 for their decorated tree through the silent auction, and the gold level sponsorship tree by VP Electric in Alpine brought $1000. Total earnings from the event were not yet calculated at press time.
All of the Festival committee members expressed enthusiasm for the success of the event and gratitude to the community for the generosity and support that guests and businesses offered to the food pantries and their patrons.
“I’m thrilled with the tremendous success of this year’s Festival of Trees – Star Valley has a way of taking care of its own and is the epitome of what true ‘community’ is all about,” said committee secretary, Abby Hume, in a text with SVI Media.
“Once again this small little valley has shown its great big heart by so generously offering support to those in need of food stability this season through the magical vehicle of the Festival of Trees,” said Bethany Packard, who also serves on the committee. “We ho-ho-hope that the Festival will become an integral part of ringing in the Christmas season for valley residents.”
Committee members work year-round to plan this event. Anyone interested in volunteering for next year’s event can reach out to Alesia Winters at 307-880-3066.
