For over 21 years the Festival of Trees has transformed the storied halls of The Fairmont Empress into a lush forest of beautifully decorated trees with a goal of raising much-needed funds for BC Children’s Hospital. The festival knits together the incredibly generous community of Victoria in what has become, over the last two decades, a cherished holiday tradition and the unofficial kick-off for the holiday season in the city. Last year the event received over 14,000 votes and raised in excess of $125,000.
The Festival of Trees is open to the public, who are encouraged to cast a ballot for their favourite tree. Thousands of festival visitors cast a vote each year; with each vote they are entered into a draw for the People’s Choice Award Citizen Prize.
ShopLocal Victoria’s Involvement
ShopLocalVictoria has sponsored a tree for the Festival of Trees which kicked off on Thursday 21 November. Our tree is decorated with clear balls each one holding the logo of our member businesses. So, there is a ball with YOUR business logo hanging on the tree! The trees are displayed throughout The Fairmont Empress over the holiday season, through to January 7, 2014.
As this is a fundraising event for the BC Children’s Hospital Foundation, we would like to play our part in collecting donations. To that end, each Shop Local Victoria member business will have a donation box for to display for customers to make donations. The boxes will be available for pick up from Robinson’s Outdoor Store (1307 Broad Street) starting Saturday 23 November.
Now in its 22nd year, the festival has grown to feature over 75 trees and has been embraced by the community as a treasured family tradition and one of the most anticipated festivals in Victoria.