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Family Place to benefit from Festival of Trees

Gala auction evening set for Nov. 24
Tree Festival

By Greg Nikkel
One of the largest annual fundraisers for the Family Place has filled the showroom at Barber Motors with lights and colour, as the Festival of Trees is being held there for the fifth year in a row.
The Christmas tree festival has been open for the public to view and make bids on the silent auction items since Wednesday, and the trees plus two extra items will be sold by live auction on Thursday, Nov. 24, with the evening starting at 6 p.m.
“The Festival of Trees is what keeps our doors open all year long, and it helps to fill in the gaps for our bills,” said Dawn Gutzke, executive director of the Family Place.
“In the last four years, we’ve raised enough funds that we were able to back off from doing catering that we used to do,” she added.
This year the Festival of Trees has 23 decorated Christmas trees and 100 items for silent auction. In addition, there will be a 50-50 loonie tree, and the Angel Tree with hand-crafted angels from Fletcher’s Funeral Chapel, on which people can write the names of loved ones who have passed on, with all proceeds from this going back to the Family Place.
In addition to the Christmas trees, two items will be sold by live auction, a 55-inch flat-screen TV, donated by PAR Contracting, and a time-share for seven days and nights at the Silver Creek Mountain Lodge in Canmore, Alta., donated by James and Leslie Richards. Glenn Rogers will be the emcee for the evening, and Winston Bailey will again handle the live auction portion of the evening.
“It’s shocking to see 100 silent auction items on display, from families, individuals and businesses from all over the community,” said Gutzke.
“The whole night is really magical for myself and for the staff and the board. It’s just heart-warming when you see everybody just being there and sharing their support for us. I think that night inspires the staff and myself to keep going above and beyond, because it shows us how much the community loves the Family Place.”
Last year, the festival raised a total of $55,500 for the Family Place, with 25 decorated trees sold for a total of $41,450. The balance came from the silent auction items, plus a loonie tree raffle (which raised $287) and the Angel Tree, which sold 120 angels at $5 each.
A total of seven trees were bought and donated back to the Family Place to give to families in need, plus the Tupperware tree was donated back to the Family Place staff.
The funds raised from this annual event help keep the programs and services offered by the Family Place going, such as the Mini-Go program for preschool children, and family resource programs for parents and families.