It is year number three that Danville’s Festival of Trees is going up at the David S Palmer Arena under the leadership of Balloons Over Vermilion. It all begins this Saturday, November 11th; and runs through Wednesday, November 15th. Event organizer Jim Anderson recently joined Laura Williams on 1490 WDAN’s Community Connection program, talking about how participation in this event grows each and every year.
AUDIO: But we also have new designers that come, and I say get a taste of the event. And once they do that, they’re hooked; and we have them for life. And they bring friends. First of all, they enjoy the set up week, because it’s amazing to watch the festival come up out of the ice at the arena. But they just have family memories that they’ll be able to share for years to come.
As always, it’s a lineup of great special events that have become part of the festival: including Breakfast with Santa this Saturday morning, Cheers to Bingo this Saturday evening, Family Bingo 5 to 7 Sunday, Monday’s Ladies’ Luncheon, and Monday night’s Storytime at 6 PM. In fact, Festival of Trees’ Jana Goodwin says you may recognize some people at Storytime.
AUDIO: That’s a free event. Anybody with paid admission can come. And we have four books that we read. This year we have Tommy B reading two books and Mark Goodwin reading two books. Hot chocolate and cookies are served by Royal Donut.
Tickets to Festival of Trees are $5; $2 for youngsters age three to 12; and free for those age two and younger. For tickets and information, such as which special events still have tickets left, go to festivaloftreesdanville.com or call the David S Palmer Arena at 217-431-2424. And as Festival of Trees’ Cassie Keister reminds us, you can also go to the web site to seek out volunteer opportunities. And they could always use more. It’s great for those who need service hours, as well as those who just want to join the Festival of Trees team.
AUDIO: You can go to festivaloftreesdanville.com, click the volunteer tab; it’ll take you right to the page. It gives a description; what the tasks are and the times, and you sign up, and it’ll e-mail you a reminder. It’ll e-mail you a thank you after the event.
Hours will be 11 to 8 Saturday, 12 to 7 Sunday, 9 AM to 8 PM Monday and Tuesday, and 9 to 3 on Wednesday.
And don’t forget the special days. That includes Family Day on Sunday, when those under ten and with an adult are free; Veterans Day on Monday, when all Veterans get in free; and Seniors Day on Tuesday, when those 60 and older are admitted for free. Remember that all the proceeds go to Balloons Over Vermilion’s Community Impact Awards, given out in the spring to local organizations helping kids and families. Last spring, 19 grants totaling $175,000 were awarded.
To hear Laura Williams’ entire interview with Festival of Trees’ Jim Anderson, Jana Goodwin, and Cassie Keister, please go to https://vermilioncountyfirst.com/the-community-connection/
