Festival of Trees brings in over $200K
Published 1:30 am Monday, November 27, 2023
PORT ANGELES — The 33rd annual Festival of Trees netted $202,000 over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend during five events at the Vern Burton Community Center in Port Angeles, according to Bruce Skinner, executive director of the Olympic Medical Center Foundation.
“We had a great year, financially,” Skinner said. “It’s the second-best year we’ve ever had.”
The foundation produces the event and is its beneficiary.
Forty-six decorated trees were auctioned or raffled off on Friday night during the Festival of Trees Gala. Drawing the top bid was “Take Me Back,” which brought in $7,500.
Fund A Need elicited $65,000 from gala attendees for the George and Barbara Brown Scholarship Fund, Skinner said. Scholarships allow OMC employees to further their education and others to pursue medical careers at Peninsula College.
The festival kicked off on Wednesday with opening ceremonies that featured a White Christmas presentation by Ghostlight Productions. They all performed amidst the lighting of LED-lit giant Christmas ornament displays, which were donated to the OMC Foundation by Microsoft.
“We were extremely honored to be the recipient of these displays,” Skinner said. “Not only were they used during the opening ceremonies, they also served as the entryway to all of our festival events.”
The Senior Breakfast was held Friday morning, followed by the gala that night, the Teddy Bear Tea on Saturday, and Family Days on Saturday and Sunday.
Wednesday’s opening ceremonies were presented by the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe. The gala was presented by First Federal. The Teddy Bear Tea was presented by Erika Ralston Word and Windermere. The Senior Breakfast was presented by Discovery Memory Care and Family Days was presented by the Lodge at Sherwood Village, the Fifth Avenue and Sherwood Assisted Living.
“The event was extremely successful,” said Festival Chair Mary Hebert. “Once again, this community showed that it supports advancing health care on the Peninsula so that patients can be treated locally.”
