It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

" He who has health has hope; and he who has hope has everything." ~Arabian Proverb

Jeannie, Ardis, Carolyn & Judy marking the quilt~

Primary Childrens Medical Center brings hope to many children and their families, so we have chosen to work on a project for the Festival of Trees, a large fund raiser for PCMC. Our September meeting was held Tuesday, September 1st at Carolyn's home. Attending were Judy, Lynn, Ardis, Kathy, Jeannie, Carolyn and Sandy. Our guest speaker was Jeannie A* who has volunteered for many years for the Festival of Trees and was a board member. Jeannie told us about the history of the festival and how it was started back in the 1970's to raise funds for Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake City.

In 1971, the first Festival of Trees was held at thet old Armory in Salt Lake and featured 60 Christmas treee. That year they were pleased to make $47,000 for the hospital. "Over the years, this beautiful event has blossomed into a forest of more than 800 trees, a gift boutique featuring handmade articles, a sweet shop filled with freshly made candies and baked goods, a display of wreaths and door decorations, centerpieces, gingerbread houses, and backyard playhouses. There is also Santa, activities for children, hot scones and sweet rolls, and continuous live entertainment. In all, the Festival spans over 220,000 square feet of display space and last year's festival raised $1,495,840.74." (Quote from Festival of the Trees History) All of this money goes to helping children in need get the medical care they require.
Lynn, tole painting decorations for the Tabletop Christmas tree.

This year we are making a Table Top Christmas Tree, a quilt to go with it and a small nativity, themed around the birth of the Savior. We tied the quilt and painted the ornaments. Next month we will finish the quilt and decorate the tree. Each ornament on the tree has to be wired into the branch to ensure that the decorations are secure and to facilitate transportation to the purchasers of the tree. The Festival of Trees will be held December 2-5, 2009 at the Southtowne Expo Center in Salt Lake City and all proceeds benefit the Primary Children's Medical Center.