Providence Festival of Trees returns in person
Nov. 18—After two years of pandemic-prompted virtual events, Providence Community Health Foundation will welcome crowds back — in person — to its Southern Oregon winter wonderland, beloved for the past three decades by kids and kids at heart.
The 2022 Providence Festival of Trees will deck the halls of the Medford Armory for two days of holiday entertainment and dozens of ornately decorated trees, according to Providence Community Health Foundation coordinator Kyndra Irigoyen.
"We've really missed having our event," Irigoyen said. "It's been difficult having our event virtual the past two years, and we're just ready to move forward."
This year's extravaganza is the closest yet to the format the nonprofit foundation offered in 2019, with one key difference: The festival will be open to the public for two days instead of the three-day celebration pre-pandemic.
The main event displays 25 large trees and 21 tabletop trees decorated by volunteers in ornate themes, according to Irigoyen. Past tree themes have included a pastel-and-tinsel 1950s Christmas and a gold-and-red Winnie the Pooh theme.
Other features at this year's event will include appearances from Santa, himself, and the return of the popular Teddy Bear Hospital, which offers participants the chance to donate a stuffed animal in exchange for a new one or for the chance to buy one of the foundation's new stuffed animals outright.
It was too soon as of press time for the schedule of holiday performers, but Irigoyen said she's anticipating a lineup of all-ages-friendly live performances from dancers and singing groups.
"We're really excited to be back in person," Irigoyen said.
The event is the foundation's biggest fundraiser of the year, according to Irigoyen. Proceeds from this year's event will help fund behavioral health programs at Providence Medford Medical Center and Providence Medical Group clinics.
Over the past 30 years, the Festival of Trees has raised $11 million for Providence Medford Medical Center.
Irigoyen said she didn't have a particular fundraising goal in mind as of late October, but archives show last year's event raised more than $325,000 for Providence programs and services in Southern Oregon.
The 2022 Providence Festival of Trees is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 3-4, at the Medford Armory, 1701 S. Pacific Highway, Medford. Admission tickets, sold outside the door, are $8 for adults and $5 for seniors and children 3-12. Kids 2 and younger will be admitted free.
Irigoyen welcomes those interested in volunteering at the event. Openings as of late October include folks who can help with setup, ticket takers and tree guards.
For more info on volunteering, call 541-732-6770 or see foundation.providence.org/oregon/southernoregon.
Reach web editor Nick Morgan at 541-776-4471 or nmorgan@rosebudmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MTwebeditor.
