The holidays are just around the corner, and with snow angels and eggnog comes the good old fashioned spirit of charity. During these weeks everyone around us seems more likeable and those random acts of kindness that can sometimes seem tedious are just a little easier to carry out. Winter is a great time for these small acts: shoveling your elderly neighbor’s driveway on a snowy Saturday morning or rooting through your closet for old winter items to donate. But there are also ways to donate to a great cause without needing to invest a lot of time and effort.
This weekend, everyone in Utah has the opportunity to do this and all you have to do is show up! The Festival of Trees is an annual festival sponsored by Primary Children’s Hospital. Hundreds of people volunteer to donate quilts, crafts, and of course, trees of all sizes. These trees are what make this festival famous: each one made for a specific cause or person. Each tree has a story behind it and is tailored to a specific theme: sports, books, movie characters. I nearly peed my pants with excitement when I saw a tree completely dedicated to Harry Potter’s Luna Lovegood. These trees are bid on in an auction and the proceeds go to Primary Children’s Hospital to help them continue their mission of healing sick children.
Now, the actual festival only goes on until this Saturday, December 1. Tickets are $5 for adults, with discounts for children and senior citizens. At the festival, there are hands-on crafts, a kid’s corner, performances by local singers and dance groups and, of course, hundreds of trees to admire. I remember fondly the yearly field trips my class used to take to the festival way back when: making reindeers with popsicle sticks, admiring the performers on stage, and gawking at the trees towering brilliantly over my three-feet-ish body. The Festival of Trees was always an incredible experience, but it wasn’t until years later that I realized the true initiative of the Festival and how much it benefits an institution with an incredible mission. The stories behind each tree are heartbreaking and very different, but one thing remains the same: each of them carried a seed of hope. It’s this hope that the Festival of Trees renews each year and one that you can help give to families in need. For more information, you can visit: festivaloftreesutah.org.