Festival of Trees Opens at Civic Centre
Prince George, B.C. – The 20th annual Spirit of the North Healthcare Foundation’s Festival of Trees is underway at the Civic Centre.
The festival has become an unofficial kick-off to the Christmas season in Prince George and is also a fundraising event for healthcare advancements at University Hospital of Northern BC. Funds raised through the festival are going
The theme of this year’s Festival of Trees is “Celebrating Families”. Festival Co-ordinator Shirli-Gene Sadowick says one of the many highlights is the Children’s Workshop, which offers about a dozen different crafts that kids can make. “They’re amazing crafts, things like candle holders, wreaths, trees, they can decorate gingerbread cookies and eat them, all 
Sadowick runs down some of the other family-oriented events. “Sunday morning we have a Family Brunch and then the following Sunday, our last day on December 1st, we have a Teddy Bear breakfast. For the Brunch people will bring a non-perishable food item to be donated to the Salvation Army Food Bank and then Santa comes and kids get to sit on his knee if they want and they get a teddy bear in exchange for bringing the food in. For the Teddy Bear breakfast it’s a little different. They bring in an unwrapped toy which is given out to kids in hospitals at Christmas. And it’s not just the Prince George hospital, some go to the Vanderhoof hospital and Quesnel as well. And then they get a teddy bear from Santa also.”
So those are some of the children’s events. Sadowick also notes “We have entertainment going on, mostly on the weekends and evenings. We have choirs, dancers, singers, people playing music, all sorts of entertainers. Then we have raffle trees to bid on. Telus has a TV, an X-box and other items in a raffle draw. Tickets are three for $5 and we draw the winners on the last day, December 1st. There’s a raffle on a playhouse with a little Viper car and a laptop.”
For those who simply want to have a look at the trees, Sadowick says “we have 25 decorated trees, the same number we had last year. We have eight for live auction, which is November 29th, Friday night. Tickets are already sold out for that. The rest of the trees with the signs in front are in the silent auction. You can bid on them right up until 4 o’clock December 1st. There is also a Men’s festival of trees section this year and a men’s workshop that you might like to have a look at. We also have two seniors’ teas, a fashion show Tuesday night, we’ve tried to put in a little bit of something for everyone.”
Sadowick, who has been involved with the Festival of Trees since day one 20 years ago, says “when we started our goal was to make this festival a family tradition and it has become that. We’re now seeing third generation coming through, people with their young kids saying I used to come here with my mom and dad and now I’m bringing my kids here, so it has become a tradition.”
The Festival of Trees is open each day until December 1st at the Civic Centre.
Comments
Been years since been to one.. Enjoyed all the beautiful trees they had before. Now… look like seedlings with decorations on it. AND the venue was sooo small compared to last attending . It’s more a gala event now rather than a festival Of trees. Kinda disappointing.. The tables set up for the evening looked like took up more space than the trees.. My family was not as impressed as they were years ago. My opionion
Wow …. my impression as well.
We used to get donations for a tree that a group we belonged to decorated for several years. It needs a rebirth …..
Perhaps you two need to get on a committee of sorts if you have such high opinions of events like this. Last I checked, the festival of trees wasn’t solely to impress the public (which according to the story above, they do anyways, three generations worth may I add) and have public approval of their hard work. It’s about raising money for the great work that the spirit of the north does. If you have better ideas on events like this, get involved. Don’t sit back and criticize without knowing what organizers do to get things like this off the ground so you and your family can go to and enjoy, all while supporting a great cause. Too much work? Oh, maybe you’re too busy? Done “your share of volunteerin I this community”? Then donate, or sit quietly and eat your crow.
heyyy “littleone”””
blah blah blah.. Didn’t see you there organizing anything..
here is a live camera view of the festival of trees if anyone is interersted…..
http://www.curtiselite.com/festcam/
littleone ….. just an other one who can’t read, obviously.
I wrote “We used to get donations for a tree that a group we belonged to decorated for several years. It needs a rebirth ….. “
You do not even understand how the festival of trees gets its trees.
Yess and the general public got to vote on the best tree.. That was fun, even though all the trees were beautiful then. My kid had a drink but wasn’t allowed to bring it in, then they had a bouncer like lady at door telling people which door to go in and out of, like there was a rush of people coming and going causing traffic tie up.. then when paying for things, staff busy chatting with each other as I waited patiently for them to finish and take care of my purchases.
Not to knock the organizers, it is a worthy cause.
So many sad and pathetic people post on this website. How can you possibly complain about an event that raises THOUSANDS of dollars for the Spirit of the North. I know many people that have been working their a$$es off this last week…this is about raising money to help save lives in PG.
So sad.
Definitely smaller than last year. And if the goal is to raise money, then one would assume more trees to auction means more money coming in.
working their a$$es off ????? What an insult to all those that put their time in there.. Think people need to think twice before they let their fingers do the walking..
It’s comical reading some of you “regulars” complain about EVERYTHING! You must really hate your own lives……
It’s comical reading some of you “regulars” complain about EVERYTHING! You must really hate your own lives……
Stillsmokin are you smoking too much to think clearly? I’m pretty sure you just contradicted yourself in your last few posts, and typing run on sentences is very 3rd grade of you…also, you don’t know who I am or what I do, so don’t even try me with those petty accusations. You too gus, keep your assumptions to yourself thanks.
Agreed Boomerang, a bunch on negative ninnies hang out here just waiting to pick things apart!
Some people are negative about events, other people are negative about people.
To each their own.
At least we participated several years in the past to collect products and services to add to trees which got auctioned off and, as a group, created theme trees which attracted many thousands of dollars towards the purchase of items needed by the hospital.
I am not too sure what those who make ad-hominem attacks have done. Probably just that, attack others on here pretending that they too give back to the community.
“littleone”
You make those people working sound like they are hookers they way you wrote “”working their a$$es off. That is NOT a nice thing to say, coming from a teacher.
I give those people credit for what they’ve done but I also was saying it’s not a family affair anymore and most certainly not like it used to be years ago. But then again, I guess only YOUR opinion counts on this site. WE should all bow to you.. :( to correct us in our grammar and letting you have the last say
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