The St. Joseph’s Hospital Foundation has announced the details for the 2018 Festival of Trees.
This year’s event, which will be the sixth year for the festival, will have a theme of Christmas on the Prairies, and will focus on local Saskatchewan food, entertainment and home-grown hospitality.
Travis Frank, interim executive director with the hospital foundation, said that the foundation is excited for the event and the changes that have been made.
“We’ve got some really great local talent booked for the event,” said Frank.
“Spencer Lafrentz, who’s originally from Estevan, and his band Spenny and the Jets are going to be coming out for the event from B.C., so they’re going to be doing a lot of Christmas music, and cover songs, and great stuff like that.”
The festival will be held at Affinity Place from Nov. 30-Dec. 2, and will feature four separate events.
Starting off the festivities will be the seniors tea on Nov. 30 from 3-5 p.m. Specifically designed for seniors, the event will feature a come and go tea to see the decorated Christmas trees, as well an opportunity to visit with friends and loved ones.
A new event to the Festival of Trees, Candy Cane Lane, will be held on Nov. 30 from 7:30-10 p.m. Referred to as the Christmas version of the popular Savour the Southeast, the event will feature a treat tasting, with a wide range of deserts and Christmas cocktails. There will be a $10 entry fee and $1 tasting tickets and will be open to those 19 years of age and up.
“We decided to change the Friday night event, which was the father-daughter gala in previous years, because that event had kind of winded down over the past few years with some lower attendance numbers,” said Frank.
“So when I was hired on, I was instructed to replace it with something new, so this is our new creation and we think Candy Cane Lane will be a huge success.”
A Christmas on the Prairies gala dinner will be held on Dec. 1 from 5:30 p.m. to midnight, and will feature a roast beef supper, as well as live entertainment. A live auction will boast vacations, decorations and Christmas trees.
“Another new thing this year, is when we auction off the Christmas trees, each tree will be designated to go to a specific department in the hospital,” said Frank.
“So that’s something kind of new that we’re going to try out, and it’s something that we’re excited about, and hopefully we will raise a lot of money for each department within the hospital.”
The event will also feature a Breakfast with Santa Claus on Dec. 2 from 9:30 a.m. to noon to wrap up the festival. Members of the Power Dodge Estevan Bruins will serve a pancake breakfast, and Santa Claus will, of course, be in attendance to see all of the boys and girls. Bouncy castles, games, crafts, and more will also be included.
“In past years we’ve raised a profit of around $140,000 from the Festival of Trees so we’re hoping to raise somewhere around that again,” said Frank.
“We’re just looking forward to a great event and we’re hoping people come out to our new event. We think it will be a great entertaining event, and people from the area are really going to love it. Tickets for the gala dinner are on sale now so we look forward to seeing everyone there.”
