Today & Tonight Magazine November 2022

Festival of TREES

Will Showcase Dozens of Christmas Trees Decorated by Local Organizations

by James Coulter

Imagine a forest of decorated Christmas trees with a village of gingerbread nestled nearby. Imagine an enchanted day where children can decorate their own cookies, sit with Santa, create a craft, and even buy presents for their parents.

You can enjoy such a festive occasion during the epic return of the Festival of Trees, to be hosted at Grove Roots Brewery on Sat. Nov. 19 and Sun. Nov. 20 from Noon - 6 p.m.

Grove Roots Brewing Company, host to the Festival of Trees in downtown Winter Haven.

www.GroveRoots.com

The Festival of Trees, true to its name, will showcase several dozen Christmas trees decorated by local organizations such as All Saints Academy, Grace Lutheran School, and local designers. Each tree will be decorated to various themes, including peacocks, gingerbread, monochrome, the Nutcracker, How The Grinch Stole Christmas, and more.

After the event, each Christmas tree will be wrapped and delivered to their respective organization or business. Another festive site will be the gingerbread village, with gingerbread houses sponsored by local Realtors and EPCAR. Other local organizations and businesses will be sponsoring holiday activities.

The Garden Club of Winter Haven will be providing Wreaths. The Polk County Hub will host a Sweets Shop. The Lake Wales Art Center will host Cookie Decorating. Meals on Wheels will do Face Painting. PEO will host a Secret Shop. Home Depot will provide crafts for kids. The Junior League will host the Friday Night Sponsor Party, and the Women’s Resource Center will host a Teddy Bear Tea.

The Festival of Trees had long been a time-honored holiday tradition in Winter Haven. The original event had been hosted by the Junior League and Rotary Club in the 1980s, yet it had not been around for the past ten years or so.

Christy Hemenway, Executive Director of the Ridge Art Association, remembered when the annual holiday event brought joy to people, and she wanted to bring that feeling back, especially now.

“Winter Haven is in such a good place, and I think our community is wonderful, our downtown is growing into such an exciting place, so we thought it was a good time to bring back the Festival of Trees,” she explained.

Joe Dunham, owner of Grove Roots, fondly remembers such events. He wanted to host something similar as a way for his children to experience the same holiday fun he enjoyed as a child. So, he started discussing the matter with Hemenway, and they decided to have the Ridge Art Association host the event at Grove Roots.

Hemenway knew that bringing back such a big beloved event would require more energy and effort than she and her organization had. As such, she requested help from many other local organizations. Each will be making their own contributions, and each will be benefiting from their piece of the event, Hemenway said.

“Back in the day, they [hosted it on] Thanksgiving weekend” Hemenway said. “That is so much time to take away from families, to decorate the trees and work the event, a lot of volunteers to run the event. We decided to do it the weekend before.”

Their biggest challenge thus far has been with the Christmas trees. Most trees do not go on sale until after Thanksgiving, so finding trees for the event has proven quite the task.

Hemenway has big hopes for the big return of this beloved holiday tradition which will also raise money for many different non-profit organizations. With so many people and organizations assisting with the event, she has nothing but great expectations on the success of this time-honored (again) holiday event.

“The thing I am looking forward to the most is the smiles on children’s faces [and] to have the community host a successful event,” she said.

The Festival of Trees will be held on Sat. Nov. 19 and Sun. Nov. 20 from 12 p.m. - 6 p.m. at Grove Roots Brewery, located at 302 3rd St SW, Winter Haven, FL 33880.

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Carlton Music two locations: Lakeland & Winter Haven

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