Exeter's 24th Festival of Trees planning underway: Here's how to participate
EXETER — Plans for the Festival of Trees, one of the most anticipated holiday events in town, are currently underway.
The Exeter Town Hall doors will be open to the public on both Wednesday, Nov. 30 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Thursday, Dec. 1 from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Bidding on trees and buying raffle tickets will be done using an online platform that can be accessed with a QR code or with the website address.
Holding the event over two days will allow for better traffic flow and using the online bidding site will be an easier way to manage the silent auction.
“Last year was the first time we had a two-day event and also tried auctioning the trees online,” said Jan Russell, co-chair of the Festival of Trees. “It went so well that we decided to do it again this year. Photos of all of the trees will be included on the bidding site again, so supporters can even bid on a tree from home if they’re unable to attend the festival in person.”
Each year, on the day before the festival, local businesses, school clubs, organizations, and individuals come together to trim 50 donated trees.
“This really turns the Town Hall into a thing of beauty,” added Russell.
According to organizers, only a few more trees are available for this year’s event. The following decorators have already registered: Acorn School, Bayside Distributing, Baystate Financial - Burns/DeSoye, Bridges Bros. Movers, CMS Builders Club, Edward Jones Investments - Irina Hultin & Karin Behrens, Enna Chocolate, Erica’s Garden, Exeter Area GFWC, Exeter Area Kiwanis, Exeter Country Club, Exeter Day School, Exeter Education Assoc., Exeter High School Tri-M Music Honors Society, Exeter Paint Transform & Design, Fire and Spice Bistro, GFWC - Girls in Action, Great Bay Kids’ Company, Jeffery Toomey Landscape Contractors, LLC, Just Calm Down Skin & Nail Studio, Kat Murphy, Laney & Lu, Leone, McDonnell & Roberts, PA, Lexie’s Exeter, Marc Fournier Art, Mary Strathern - Berkshire Hathaway Home Services Verani and Hillside Marketing, McFarland Ford Sales, Musical Arts, Newfields Garden Club, Novel Neighbors, Paws Pet Boutique, Relief Parenting Respite & Resource Center, Riverbend Masonry, River Woods Lodges, Sage Legal LLC, Sea Dog Brewing Company, Seacoast Artist Assoc., Seacoast School of Technology, Seacoast Staging & Design Co., Southern District YMCA - Camp Lincoln, St. Mary and St. Michael Parish Youth Ministry, Street - Exeter, The Cornerstone School, The Jones Family, The Not So Skinny Book Club, and Vogel Veterinary Dermatology for Linda Lee.
Registration forms can be accessed through the following link: https://www.exeterareacharitablefoundation.org/fotdecorator.
Decorators can either print out the forms and mail them or register directly through the site. For questions, please contact the Exeter Area Chamber of Commerce at (603) 772-2411.
The Community Children’s Fund, created by the Exeter Area Charitable Foundation, raises funds to provide warm winter clothing and bedding to children in need in 11 local communities. CCF is a duly authorized 501c3 nonprofit organization incorporated in the State of N.H. Last year, the CCF, under the auspices of the Exeter Charitable Foundation, distributed $87,000 in clothing vouchers. The Festival of Trees raised over $45,000 at last year’s event and is one of the primary donors to this foundation.
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Exeter's 24th Festival of Trees planning underway
