Holiday magic
DEVIN WEEKS/Press “America’s Got Talent” finalist Britt Saasen of Rathdrum croons lovely Christmas songs Saturday morning during the 29th annual Festival of Trees Brunch in The Coeur d’Alene Resort. Nearly 400 people attended the annual brunch, which is one of many Festival events benefiting the Kootenai Health Foundation.
Several tables of guests stood during different verses of "The 12 Days of Christmas" sing-a-long during the Festival of Trees Brunch in The Resort on Saturday. The Festival continues with Family Day and the Children's Workshop today. Fashion show events will take place on Monday. (DEVIN WEEKS/Press)
The "Twelve Days of Christmas" by Haddock and Associates is a "tree" made out of a 12-foot vintage ladder decorated with custom rebar orbs, metallic bulbs and transparent glass and topped with a Moravian star pendant chandelier. (DEVIN WEEKS/Press)
"Go Zags, Go!" by Hart Capital Management: This brightly lit Gonzaga Bulldog fandom tree includes five tickets to the men's basketball game against Santa Clara on Dec. 30 and two tickets to the women's game on Jan. 13 against San Francisco. (DEVIN WEEKS/Press)
"Build with Me" by Allwest Testing and Engineering: A LEGO-lover's dream tree, this display includes hundreds of LEGO blocks to encourage creativity in kids of all ages.
"Wine and Dine" by Steel Structures of America: More than 170 bottles of wine come with this handcrafted wine-holding tree, created by Neil Malam at Custom Fabrications Design. (DEVIN WEEKS/Press)
"Mountain Garden Christmas" by New Leaf Nursery: This display is dedicated to the warmth of the season and the beauty of North Idaho winters. (DEVIN WEEKS/Press)
"Champagne, Lights and Delights" by The Murray Group and United Heritage Insurance: Friends and family come together to enjoy the holidays and toast to loved ones near and far. This display includes ornate furniture and a lighted backdrop built by Brian Kempton. (DEVIN WEEKS/Press)
Kootenai Health Foundation, community celebrate 29th Festival of Trees
By DEVIN WEEKS
Staff Writer
COEUR d’ALENE — A little bit of holiday magic happened Saturday morning during the Festival of Trees Brunch.
Enthusiasm bounced from table to table as guests participated in a collective caroling of "The 12 Days of Christmas."
One table of guests stood to sing the "partridge in a pear tree" verse, and soon different tables of guests were popping up to sing out certain verses as the song progressed, causing many smiles and a shared connection that warmed many hearts.
"Whoever put this on, it was fabulous, but the highlight had to be 'The 12 Days of Christmas,'” said Bobbi Suiter of Hayden, who attended with her good friend Sue Stallard, also of Hayden. "I had no idea what to expect and it was awesome. The entertainment, the food, everything. It was great."
Surrounded by 29 creatively decorated and cozily lit Christmas trees in the convention bays of The Coeur d'Alene Resort, close to 400 guests enjoyed a variety of entertainment while they socialized and shared a meal with friends and family.
"I thought it was great, a good way to spend a Saturday morning," Stallard said. "I live here, I think that I should support my community, and Festival of Trees is a very worthy thing to come to.”
Greg Lee of Coeur d'Alene picked up his niece, Kaelyn Howard, 6, of Coeur d'Alene, to join in each time the "eight maids a'milking" verse was sung during the "12 Days" sing-a-long. They attended the brunch to see Kaelyn's great-grandmother, Gloria Delgado, perform with the Lake City Tappers.
"It was a really fun community event," Lee said. "It was fantastic to be able to come and support my grandmother."
This is the 29th year for the Kootenai Health Foundation's Festival of Trees, which serves as a fundraiser for the foundation. This year, foundation president Julie Holt said proceeds are going toward expanding Kootenai Health's emergency department and operating rooms.
"To see it all develop and all the amazing volunteers and all the people behind us who make this happen is really exciting,” Holt said. "This is really neat. It's really helped me get into my own Christmas spirit. And it's so meaningful to see how many people are willing to come out and support the work that we're doing."
Several guests moseyed around the room to admire the trees after the brunch. "Santa's Woodland Workshop," "The Great Outdoors," "A Mid-Winter Night's Dream," "Carousel Princess" and "Hark! The Herald Angel Sings" were among the clever themes dreamed up by the individuals, nonprofits and businesses who donated and decorated the trees. The trees come with other treasures, such as gift certificates, merchandise and more, and the tree packages are auctioned off to support the foundation.
"Super 1 always does a fantastic job. I appreciate what they do with theirs. It's a little more traditional. I love the creativity, but I'm really a traditionalist," said Karen Nelson of Coeur d'Alene. "And of course we love the LEGO tree, especially if you have kids or grandkids. Who wouldn't love that?"
The Festival continues today in The Resort with Family Day from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and the Children's Workshop from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Both are open to the public.
The Fashion Show Luncheon is from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Monday followed by the Fashion Show Dinner from 5 to 8 p.m.
Info: www.kootenaihealthfoundation.org