Answer to Facebook and Instagram Question - Friends of Festival and Auction Night information.

Opening Night (or Auction Night) at Festival of Trees is a semi-formal occasion when trees, gingerbread creations, quilts, wreaths, and playhouses are sold to the highest bidder through silent auction. Hosts facilitate the auction and ensure that the process is conducted in a welcoming, professional and fair manner.

This year, the bidding process will be conducted through an online system called "Gesture".  Bidding begins at 5:00 pm and concludes at 8:00 pm.  Bidding closes on aisle A-H at 7:30 pm and bidding closes on aisle I-Q including gingerbread at 8:00 pm.  Guests will be informed via text before a section closes.

After the auction items are sold, a SOLD sign is placed next to the tree listing the name of the item, the decorator, the donor and the buyer.  Over the year, many buyers have asked to remain anonymous. Friends of Festival" are buyers who would prefer to remain anonymous.

Register HERE to be an Auction Host. 

Read HERE for Auction Host Training.

Click HERE to buy tickets to Opening Night  - $20 per person (No babies or children under the age of 16 will be admitted to Opening Night).

Answer to Facebook and Instagram Question - #3 Trees are delivered by volunteers and truck drivers

The Festival of Trees is always scheduled on the Wednesday after Thanksgiving.  This year that falls on Wednesday, November 29th.  This way we have plenty of time to get into the Christmas Spirit. 

Perhaps the greatest phenomenon of all is that everything is donated. The trees are decorated and purchased by individuals, families, organizations, businesses, and church groups. In addition, others generously donate items to fill the shops. Businesses provide the paper and printing of posters and tickets. Corporations offer their covered trucks and drivers to help deliver the trees, and so much more! Thousands of people contribute countless hours and means to give “A Gift of Love" to children. Every penny earned goes to help children at Primary Children's Hospital.

Visitors to Festival enjoy a variety of tasteful entertainment featured in the lobby and on two performance stages in the exhibit hall.  The performers range from pianists, vocalists, dancing groups, ukulele bands, bagpipe players to tap dancers & cheerleaders.  Festival goers can enjoy continuous entertainment on two stages while sitting in comfortable chairs.

TREE DELIVERY is the one of the most amazing parts of Festival.  After Festival closes on Saturday night, volunteers wrap and box up all of the Christmas Trees and Wreaths.  Large, donated trucks and truck drivers line up on Sunday morning and along with the volunteers, they (the volunteers and truck drivers) deliver the trees.  

Volunteers show up late Saturday night to wrap up trees and box up everything that goes with the tree.

Lots of muscle and ingenuity is involved with tree delivery!

An aweseome truck driver found a good use for the leftover shrink wrap!

Tired but happy volunteers on Sunday afternoon after a successful day of delivering trees.

Most every tree is set up exactly like it is set up at Festival. 

Volunteers have pictures and carefully place every item exactly where it was.  

This display was set up in a local office building.

Answer to Facebook and Instagram Question - Cinnamon Rolls & Scones

The smell of delicious, fresh, warm scones and sweet rolls drift through the trees for four days at Festival.  

In 1986, Sharon Goodrich started cooking scones in electric frying pans.  Today, the Scone and Sweet Roll Department has four professional fryers to cook the scones and two ovens to cook the sweet rolls. 

Every year, Festival sells 12,000 Sweet Rolls and 19,000 Scones. Adults and children alike, enjoy the sugar and cinnamon scones and the frosted cinnamon rolls with sticky, happy faces.  

Known as "THE LOADED SCONE"

Board Members who serve in the Scone and Sweet Roll Department

Volunteers work tirelessly to provide these fresh baked, right-out-of-the-oven and fryer goodies.  They are a necessity to keep up your strength to visit each and every tree!

A big thank you to Rhodes Bake-N-Serve for donating the cinnamon rolls and to Terrel's Country Bakery Scone and Rolls for donating the scone dough.  

Answer to Facebook and Instagram Question - Thank you Salt Lake Scots!

The sound of the bagpipe catches you. The bagpipe's unique harmonics stir emotions.  The interplay between the melody notes sounding against the steady tones of the drone creates an effect that is the defining characteristic of a bagpipe.  It's mesmerizing to watch and to listen to someone play such an enchanting musical instrument.

On Saturday night, one of Festival's finest and most humble traditions, is to have our very own Salt Lake Scots lead the Board Members of Festival of Trees in a march down the aisles of the trees. There's not a dry eye in the Expo and goosebumps are felt by everyone.  This triumphant march feels like the greatest "thank you" to these ladies for the hard work and dedication they've put forth over the last year.  The "March" starts at the north end of the Expo Center and ends on the South Stage.  The Scots lead the way followed by 80 fantastic women following behind arm-in-arm.  There the Leadership of Festival and the Executive Board take their finals bows while family and friends cheer them on. 

You can watch a short clip of this parade HERE.

The Salt Lake Scots have also entertained the crowds at Festival.  You can watch them HERE and HERE.