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FESTIVAL OF TREES
 DECK THE HALLS: The Christmas season kicks off with the annual Festival of Trees Friday and Saturday at Blue Mountain Conference Center. (Observer File photo). LA GRANDE The Soroptimist International of La Grande presents the 20th annual Festival of Trees. The festival will kick off with a gala and auction at 6 p.m. Friday at the Blue Mountain Conference Center. Reservations for the event are required; a limited number of the $25 tickets are available at the Chamber of Commerce, 102 Elm St. Saturday's event begins at 10 a.m., ends at 4 p.m. and is open to the public for the admission price of one canned food item. The all-day event includes a silent auction, visits from Santa Claus and free photographs with Santa, live entertainment and a raffle drawing at 4 p.m. The Lions Club will be on hand selling fresh Christmas wreaths made by the La Grande High School Band. Large wreaths are $30 and the smaller ones ar $18. Proceeds from wreath sales will be split between the band and the Lions Club. The La Grande Downtown Association will also be on hand selling this year's ornament featuring the new Cook Memorial Library for $6 each. Families are encouraged to come and participate in a wide variety of events including something new this year Mrs. Claus's Kitchen. Grand Cuisine Dining Caterer will be assisting Mrs. Santa Claus with two special projects for children, building gingerbread houses and edible ornaments. Both activities are free. However, Zinzer said some baked goods should be available for sale as well. Another new thing, according to longtime soroptimist Patty Gooderham, is that live entertainment has been scheduled to entertain throughout the day. Proceeds from the holiday event and fundraiser will be disbursed among several programs that benefit the community in way or another: Court Appointed Special Advocates, Kids Club, Shelter From the Storm, EOU Girls in Science, Think Link, Eastern Oregon Chapter Red Cross and the EOU Writing Project. Most of this year's recipients will be on hand Saturday sharing information about each program. Some will also have fun activities for the kids. NONSTOP ENTERTAINMENT FROM 10 A.M. to 4 P.M. SATURDAY 10 a.m. Union County Children's Choir 10:30 a.m. La Grande High School A Cappella Choir 11 a.m. Union County Youth Symphony 11:30 a.m. Union County Youth Symphony Noon Timmy Brown 12:30 p.m. Jamie Jacobson's voice students 1 p.m. LHS A Cappella Choir 1:30 p.m. Colleen Barker 2 p.m. Thacher Carter and Band 3 p.m. Regina Braker 3:30 p.m. Brent Smith |
