Festival of Trees right around the corner!
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November 25, 2012 |
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Once a year, acting almost like elves,
volunteers for the Fry Healthcare Foundation
transform the Boundary County Fairgrounds into
the Festival of Trees.
Inside the Exhibit Hall, thousands of sparkling
lights flicker illuminating the stars of the
evening: Christmas trees decorated to grace the
most elaborate home or office. Guests, having
driven in the early evening twilight through
snow-lined roads, enter through the
double-doors, one by one, by twos, and in small
groups, all dressed in their most festive
attire.
They are there to greet their neighbors, to wish
their friends “Merry Christmas," to share dinner
together, to enjoy the music, to compete in a
friendly but sometimes fierce, auction, and to
be a part of the Fry Foundation’s Festival of
Trees as it raises money for worthy projects for
their local hospital, Boundary Community
Hospital.
This year the Family Day is 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Friday, December 7, and the Gala Night is
Saturday, December 8, with doors opening at 5
p.m., the dinner buffet from 6 to 7:30 p.m. and
the live auction at 7 p.m.
All are encouraged to be part of the Festival of
Trees; those who have lived in Boundary County
all their lives, those who arrived this year,
those who live elsewhere but would like to help
support the community’s hospital, and everyone
in-between.
Support comes in many forms during the Festival
of Trees. Individuals, companies, and
corporations can purchase sponsorships; an
individual or a group can decorate a themed
tree; an attendee to the Gala Night can purchase
a decorated tree or other auctioned items by bid
during the evening; and volunteers can help
behind the scenes to coordinate and produce the
production.
Sponsorship Opportunities are as follows; $1,250
Platinum Sponsorship includes premier seating at
an elegant table for eight guests at the Gala
Event, four tickets to Family Night, half-page
recognition in the program, and signage in a
prominent area within the event. $800 Gold
Sponsorship includes four tickets to Gala Night,
a listing in the program and signage at the
event. $500 Silver Sponsorship includes two
tickets to the Gala Night, a listing in the
program and signage at the event. $250 Bronze
Sponsorship includes listing in the program and
signage at the event and a $100 Copper
Sponsorship includes a listing in the program.
Wednesday, December 5, is set aside for those
who would like to participate in decorating a
fresh green tree.
Fry Foundation purchases the trees. Decorators
choose a theme for their trees and submit their
selection to the Tree committee. Decorators
purchase all supplies for their tree and come to
the Fairgrounds on the decorating day ready to
complete their tree. Decorating ideas, tips and
guidelines are available from the Tree
Committee. These trees are the center focus of
the Gala Night and auction and are fun to
decorate. Bids for the trees reach several
hundreds of dollars during the Gala Night and
then the Tree Committee delivers the tree to the
purchaser the next day.
Artificial trees purchased by the decorator are
decorated before hand, and brought to the
fairgrounds complete, or may be decorated on
decoration day when the live trees are
decorated.
The Festival of Tree committee welcomes other
donations to the auctions including wreaths,
baskets, stockings and creative groupings of
items. Call the “auction committee” for ideas at
(208) 610-4175.
This year, The Festival of Trees consists
completely of volunteers.
Linda Hiatt, President of the Fry Healthcare
Foundation, is coordinating this huge
undertaking, which includes the Gala Event on
Saturday and a Family Night on Friday. She
welcomes volunteers, and especially encourages
those who are new to the area to come and
volunteer. It is a great way to give to the
community and to get to know people.
The final way of support is to attend one, or
both, of the events, whether you are a sponsor
or not. While there, be prepared to participate
in the auction.
Funds raised this year will go to purchase a new
piece of equipment for one of the hospital’s
departments.
The Fry Foundation is closing in on $1-million
worth of purchases for the hospital, including
large purchases of a CT Scan, almost $300,000,
to smaller purchases like the television for the
Extended Care Facility.
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