The Festival of Trees is happening!!!

Months of planning have led to a modified version of the Festival of Trees that will allow for a safe and enjoyable experience for all. 

The Foundation is happy and excited to announce that the Festival will be open for 8 days instead of our usual 3 days to keep the number of visitors at any given time to a minimum while maximizing the number of people who can attend. 

“Maintaining the safety of our attendees, volunteers, sponsors and staff is our top priority. Guests will have to pre-purchase their time slot to attend the Festival of Trees this year. This will allow for a limited number of guests in the building and make it easier to adhere to Physical Distancing guidelines.” stated Executive Director Keith Curtis

“While we may have modifications to accommodate safety this year, we know keeping the Festival tradition of launching the Holiday Season is as important to our community as it is to the Foundation.” continued Curtis. “We have created new ways for our supporters to attend the Festival virtually, not just our events like Mistletoe Mixer and Teddy Bear Breakfast, but with the purchase of Foundation VR goggles, people can have a fully emersed Festival tour all from the comfort of their home! The best part is the goggles will only be $10.” he added.

An enhanced virtual tour of the Festival will also be available online for those who cannot visit in person or for those who just want to see it again.  By purchasing a set of Foundation goggles (together with your mobile phone or iPod) you will experience a 360 degree fully emersed Festival Tour. After you tour the Festival you can use the same goggles with Google Expeditions and tour many locations around the world.  We are excited to launch the new Foundation goggles, they are fun for young and old alike.

Many of the Festival’s amazing volunteer designers are already busy making Creations, Trees, Gingerbread Houses, Mini Trees, Art and more. These items will all be on display at the Festival of Trees as well as on our new Festival of Trees auction site.

That is right, for the first time, we will have a photo of each auction item up for viewing and bidding on our website for all 8 days of the Festival, for maximum exposure.

The Kids only Secret Shop will be open for shopping and will have two locations to prevent lineups and limit the number of little visitors in each store.  New for this year, Secret Shop items will also be available online for curbside pickup! 

Beyond the Secret Shop selection in the online store, there will also be mini trees for purchase and opportunities to support specific programs at the hospital or make a donation to the Foundation.

Children’s activities will have a new look.  Buy your Crafts, Cookie Decorating packages or Toy Kits and take them home to extend the Festival Fun.  Some of these items will also be available in the online store for curbside pickup. 

You can still enjoy the Candy Shop and Teddy Bear Hospital plus get a Letter to send Santa. You can even visit with Santa live from the North Pole over Zoom! Parents will be able to request the recording of their child’s visit with Santa as their Holiday 2020 Santa photo. 

We are especially excited for you to see the newest Festival feature, “The Elves Playground”! It will certainly captivate all the tiny guests’ attention.

This year we will be replacing the Christmas Pajama Party with “Gaming for Good”. The Foundation has partnered with the Alberta Esports Association (AESA) to create a fun online gaming event – Gaming for Good!

Participants will have the opportunity to play the popular Nintendo Esports titles Super Smash Bros Ultimate, Mario Kart 8 DX and Super Smash Bros Melee all while supporting local healthcare and our Region’s hospitals.

There will be virtual events for the Teddy Bear Breakfast, Holiday Business Luncheon, the Mistletoe Mixer and the Gala.  More specific information on each of these events can be found below.

Keeping You Safe

The risk reduction plan for Festival of Trees includes:

Virtual Events

Teddy Bear Breakfast – November 29 – 9:30-10:30

Join us for a fun pancake breakfast in your own home in support of the GPRHF.  Butterfly the Clown will host the show and welcome special guests that will have your little ones captivated for a whole hour!

Have your pancakes ready for 9:30 am and join the show with performances by Le Petit Cirque and a special Singing Santa that will amaze your whole family!

Tickets are $25 (per household)

Please drop your new Teddy Bear for the Pediatrics unit at one of our designated drop off locations to be announced shortly. Stay tuned to our social media channels and www.festivaloftreesgp.ca for updates.

Tickets sell out every year so purchase your ticket this year to get First Access to ticket sales next year!

Holiday Business Luncheon – November 25 – 11:30 am – 1:00 pm

Presented by the Rotary Club of Grande Prairie, this virtual luncheon is a great addition to your business meeting or reason to get the team together physically or virtually at the beginning of the busy holiday season. Get inspired by Unstoppable Tracy Schmitt, a #1 International Motivational Speaker, Best Selling Author, & Decorated Athlete.

With a laugh, Tracy helps you turn ordinary days into extraordinary days. Know more about her Lim[b]itless Secret! Her mantra, If I Can Do It, You Can Do It! What’s Your Excuse? Let her charge up you up for the holiday season and the new year.

Tickets are $10 each.

Mistletoe Mixer – Mix it Up Virtually! – November 27 – 7:30 -9:00 pm

Mix it Up! Is our theme and that is exactly what we are going to do.  Our favorite chefs and mixologists will be Mixing up their famous recipes and drinks and teaching us how to do it at home. Plus, we will be mixing up some amazing comedy with comedian Jebb Fink and partying it up with our favorite dueling piano duo Brittany & Serge who are back by popular demand!

Tickets are $25 each and sold in groups of 4 to facilitate the gift bags that come with your purchase so get together in groups of 4, 8, 12, or more and Mix the night away!

Tickets sell out every year so purchase your ticket this year to get First Access to ticket sales next year!

GALA “Mask”arade Event – November 21 – 5:00 – 9:00 pm

Join us for our Virtual “Mask”arade Gala full of Entertainment and Surprises that will have you and your guests on the edge of their seats.  This event sells out every year! Buying your tickets this year grants you first access to ticket sales next year.

To sum it up these are just some of the things your Festival of Trees committee has been planning:

Like you, they are community-minded individuals who believe in the magic of the Festival of Trees and who want to see the family Christmas Tradition live on through these challenging times.

We Need Your Help!

Volunteer

Consider purchasing an item or event ticket

Get the word out!

Online ticket sales, services and experiences will begin to be available

by visiting festivaloftreesgp.ca beginning September 25, 2020

We can’t wait to see you!