Holiday Magic: Festival of Trees

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posted Nov 30, 2010 - 3:54:01pm

ORANGE CITY

At the end of the holiday classic, “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” the characters burst into song when their decorated tree is revealed. The message of the timeless tearjerker is that the story behind the tree is more important than any tinsel, baubles or garland.

There are 28 stories behind each of the beautifully decorated Christmas trees on the campus of Florida Hospital Fish Memorial in Orange City. For Holiday Magic: Festival of Trees, we invited Volusia and Seminole county not-for-profit organizations to share their mission by embodying one of our trees with symbols that represent the work they do all year round.

Organizations like Primate Paradise, a haven “for abused or unwanted primates whose owners can no longer care for them,” decorated their tree with a garland of toy monkeys, and photos of some of the hundreds of primates the group has cared for throughout the years.

Parker’s Pals, whose members bring a message of hope to families of children under the age of 3 diagnosed with cancer, decorated their tree with little red wagons (a symbol of their organization), and photos of some of their “Pals.”

All of the seven-foot, lighted Christmas trees may be viewed online by clicking on the Holiday Magic link at www.fhfishmemorial.org. The trees will also be available for purchase through an online auction until December 15, with proceeds going toward cancer patients in our community.

We invite the community to an awards ceremony for Holiday Magic: Festival of Trees on Wednesday, December 15 at 6 pm. We will present cash prizes to the winning non-profit organizations (as judged by an independent panel), and the public will have a chance to vote for their favorite tree. The organization’s tree that receives the most popular votes will also receive a cash award. We hope you will join us for free hot chocolate, candy canes and Christmas cookies, and seasonal music as our carolers sing the message of the season.

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