Festival of Trees lights up Evergreen Park this weekend

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This weekend, Grande Prairie residents can support a great cause by heading to the Festival of Trees at the TARA Center in Evergreen Park.

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“We always see the Festival of Trees as the start of the Christmas season at Grande Prairie,” said Chantale Doucette-Chalifoux, Event Coordinator for the Festival of Trees.

The Festival of Trees is organized by the Grande Prairie Regional Hospital Foundation, and is considered the largest fundraising event of the year for the foundation.

“It’s a Christmas wonderland for the kids to come and enjoy and the adults too,” said Doucette-Chalifoux, “There’s entertainment there, from building toys in Santa’s Workshop to a secret kids-only store where children adults cannot enter. “

“Kids can buy gifts for their family and hide them from mom and dad under the tree,” said Doucette-Chalifoux, “so it’s very exciting, like no other store out there.”

The Festival of Trees begins with an anticipated event Thursday from 4-9pm. M. And it will be fully open on Fridays and Saturdays from 10am to 6pm. M. And on Sundays from 12 to 5 p.m. M.

The festival will feature a collection of decorated trees and a full line of beautifully decorated gingerbread houses, representing thousands of hours of volunteer work.

“There is something for every age and it is truly a sight to see,” said Doucette-Chalifoux.

Doucette-Chalifoux says there will also be places for kids to write letters to Santa, crafts for kids at Children’s World, and the Popcorn Playhouse, where there’s room to watch classic Christmas movies.

“Santa will be there virtually, he will be chatting from Zoom from the North Pole,” said Doucette-Chalifoux, “And there is a teddy bear hospital, the children come in and there are different stations where they can take care of the bears.”

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There is also a 50/50 drawing with a top prize of $ 100,000, as well as prizes for all the different events at the Festival of Trees.

New this year is the Gingy Game Room, where there will be daily video game tournaments, virtual reality stations, a simulator, and space for viewers to watch the daily tournaments.

There will be tournaments for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Super Smash Bros. Participants will compete for a gaming chair or loot from Northern Bottling Company. The cost to register for any of the tournaments is $ 10 and the event is run by Gaming for Good.

“We have incredible prizes to win, and that’s why it’s called Gaming for Good, because they’re playing video games for a good cause and raising money for the hospital,” said Doucette-Chalifoux.

There are a few other events associated with the Festival of Trees that also benefit the Grande Prairie Regional Hospital Foundation. The teddy bear and mistletoe mixer breakfast has sold out, however tickets to the Holiday Barnburner are still available.

“That’s just a fun, country version of the mistletoe mix,” said Doucette-Chalifoux, “it’s a food and drink sampler, and a mix and match with that.”

According to Doucette-Chalifoux, there will be some food options at Evergreen Park that include treats from Ms. Claus’s kitchen, concession items, as well as coffee and hot chocolate from Tim Hortons.

Due to safety regulations, there will be no seating space to eat, so items will be served and consumed to go.

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Tickets for the event must be purchased online and cannot be purchased at the door. Masks will be required once inside the venue and the Restrictions Waiver Program will be in effect throughout the festival weekend.

“It takes the whole community to put this together because there are 80 miniature trees. That means 80 families, non-profit organizations or businesses have taken the time to decorate a small tree so that everyone can see it and help raise funds, ”said Doucette-Chalifoux.

For people who cannot attend this year’s festival, but want to make a donation, they can visit https://gphospitalfoundation.ca/donate/