Franklin County Visitors Bureau wrapped up the fourth annual Festival of Trees at the 11/30 Visitors Center, 15 South Main Street, on Friday, December 2. The festive event featured 51 beautifully decorated trees and 18 wreaths while raising more than $6,250 for the Cumberland Valley Breast Care Alliance (CVBCA). CVBCA promotes breast cancer awareness, advocates for early diagnosis, supports people and their loved ones going through treatment, and celebrates the lives of survivors while remembering those that succumb.
In addition to donating the funds from the voting and silent auctioning of the trees and wreaths, Franklin County Visitors Bureau teamed up with Homeless Matters and Grocery Outlet to launch Sharing the Heart of the Holidays. The first-year event supported Franklin County families and residents that needed a little extra help during the holiday season by collecting items like gloves, hats, scarves, blankets, coats, family games, grocery cards, gas cards, and toys. More than 600 items were collected and are being distributed across Franklin County.
The Festival of Trees People’s Choice Awards were:
People’shoice Tree – Tree 37, decorated by Starr Insurance.
People’s Choice Wreath – Wreath D, decorated by Conococheague Audubon
The top-selling tree of the silent auction was Tree 31, decorated by Chambersburg Hearing Center with a final bid of $450. The top-selling wreath was Wreath H, decorated by the Capitol Theatre with a final bid of $120
Franklin County Visitors Bureau appreciates the support of the businesses, individuals, civic groups and organizations that decorated trees as well as the those who visited the 2022 Festival of Trees. The 2023 Festival of Trees is set for November 18 through December 2, 2023.
The Franklin County Visitors Bureau invites the public to enjoy 51 trees and 18 wreaths during the final week of Festival of Trees at the Franklin County 11/30 Visitors Center, 15 South Main Street in downtown Chambersburg. Decorated trees and wreaths are displayed in the elegant lobby and second floor Great Room of the 11/30 Visitors Center, which was formerly the 1865 National Bank of Chambersburg and functioned as a bank until 2015. Two old vaults are decorated for the holidays. One shows a village covered in snow and ready for Christmas. The other is the video vault, decorated like grandma’s house and showing old-fashioned Christmas specials, like “Frosty the Snowman” and “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.”
Festival of Trees offers a chance to view the trees and wreaths, vote for your favorite, and even bid to take one home. All proceeds of voting and the auction will benefit the Cumberland Valley Breast Care Alliance. Take a sneak peek here. December 2 is the final day of Festival of Trees. Voting closes at 7:45 PM, so votes can be counted to announce the tree and wreath with the most votes as well as the winners of each tree.
Other Festival of Tree activities include:
Cumberland Valley Model Railroad Club Christmas train display.
Accepting donations for Sharing the Heart of the Holidays items, all to benefit Franklin County neighbors that need a little extra help this holiday season.
Coloring contest for children with a first prize of $50 and three honorable mentions of $20. Stop in at the visitors center to color the picture, or download it here and drop it at the visitors center.
Take-away crafts–a new one for each day of Festival of Trees.
Letter-writing to Santa, followed by a reply from Santa.
Drawing to win a Franklin County Holiday Basket with locally crafted arts, holiday ornaments, local foods, tickets to a 2022-23 Capitol Theatre show, and much more. Total value exceeds $400.
Santa will visit the 11/30 Visitors Center from 5 PM to 7 PM on December 2. Stop by for a photo or just to say Merry Christmas!
December 2 is First Friday throughout downtown Chambersburg. It is Candle Night. Luminaries will line the downtown streets as Christmas lights glisten above. Chambersburg Council for the Arts is hosting a luminary walk, beginning at 5 PM. Brussels Café, 55 North Main, is holding a Christmas Market from 1 PM to 8 PM with artisan vendors, Ugly Sweater Contest at 6 PM, and carolers in Chambers Fort Park from 7 PM to 7:30 PM. The Cocoa Crawl is back, too. Special Cocoa Crawl mugs go on sale at 5:45 PM and cocoa tasting begins at 6 PM at participating merchant–including Black & Blush Boutique, ReMix, Franklin County Visitors Bureau, Hammer & Stain, Denim Coffee, Cheerful Flowers & Gifts, YP Jewelers, Boost Mobile, and Willow & Birch. Many downtown merchants have specials, doorbusters, and giveaways.
The Franklin County Visitors Bureau welcomes a special visitor to Festival of Trees—Santa Claus. Santa will be at the Franklin County 11/30 Visitors Center on Saturday, November 26, 11:30 AM-1:30 PM; Sunday, November 27, 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM; and Friday, December 2, 5 PM to 7 PM. Come see Santa and snap holiday pictures. Enjoy cookies and 51 beautifully decorated trees and 18 stunning wreaths. As always, there is no fee for Festival of Trees.
The Franklin County 11/30 Visitors Center is helping Santa to collect “Letters to Santa.” Children may bring already-written letters or write a letter to Santa at the 11/30 Visitors Center. The Visitors Center has everything to write that special letter–stationery, stickers, and envelopes. Most importantly, it has Santa’s Mailbox. All letter writers will receive a reply from Santa, so please remember to include a return address on Letters to Santa.The 2022 Franklin County Festival of Trees is the fourth annual event and the largest to date. Be sure to check out all the holiday fun, including:
Holiday train display, courtesy of Cumberland Valley Model Railroad Club
Old-fashioned Christmas programming in the video vault.
Coloring contest for children with a first prize of $50 and three honorable mentions of $20.
Take-away crafts-a new one for each day of Festival of Trees. Make one to take and another to decorate our Sharing the Heart of the Holiday Tree.
Festival of Trees is open Monday through Friday from 8 AM to 4:30 PM, except Thanksgiving Day and November 25. The Festival is open on Small Business Saturday, November 26 from 9 AM to 3 PM. Sunday hours are 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM on November 20 and November 27. There are no admission fees. The final day of Festival of Trees is Candle Night, December 2, in downtown Chambersburg. In addition to the beautifully lit trees of downtown, Main Street is lined with luminaries. Enjoy the sounds and smells of the holiday season, plus a Christmas Market near Brussels Café on North Main Street.
New in 2022, FCVB is joining forces with Homeless Matters and Grocery Outlet to bring another community connection to Festival of Trees by adding a 12-days of Christmas event called Sharing the Heart of the Holiday. Sharing the Heart of the Holiday is a giving and receiving event that features a collection of twelve items to support Franklin County residents that need a little help this holiday season, including coats for all ages, grocery gift cards, blankets, toys, baby items, gas cards, art supplies, and more.
Franklin County Visitors Bureau is getting ready for Festival of Trees 2022, the fourth annual event held at the Franklin County 11/30 Visitors Center. Cumberland Valley Breast Care Alliance is again the benefactor of the funds raised from the event. New in 2022, FCVB is joining forces with Homeless Matters and Grocery Outlet to bring another community connection to Festival of Trees by adding a 12-days of Christmas event called Sharing the Heart of the Holiday. Sharing the Heart of the Holiday is a giving and receiving event that features a collection of twelve items to support Franklin County residents that need a little help this holiday season.
Each of the twelve days has a featured item to correspond with each day of Festival of Trees. Franklin County Visitors Bureau, Homeless Matters, and Grocery Outlet hope to make this an annual part of Festival of Trees. The twelve days and the highlighted collection for each day are:
November 19 – Coats for Kids
November 20 Books of All Kinds
November 21 – Grocery Gift Cards
November 22 – Mittens/Gloves, Scarves, Hats
November 23 – Laundry & Hygiene Items (Collections pause on November 24 and 25.)
November 26 – Gas Gift Cards
November 27 – Coats for Entire Family ALL Sizes
November 28 – Games & Snacks for Family Fun Night
November 29 – Art & School Supplies
November 30 – Baby Clothes, Formula & Baby Items
December 1 – Blankets & Linens
December 2 – Toys
“Homeless Matters strives to ease the burdens that face families and assist in providing an opportunity to be successful, even in the face of such personal hardships. Through this wonderful collaboration we can lessen the burden this holiday season and share the heart of the holidays,” said Jacqui Wolfe, the driving force behind Homeless Matters.
Rachel Fulton, co-owner of Grocery Outlet, added, “Grocery Outlet is honored to work with such amazing organizations. We are excited to be a donation location!”
More donation locations include: Franklin County Visitors Bureau, Greater Waynesboro Chamber of Commerce, Greencastle Chamber of Commerce, Shippensburg Chamber of Commerce, Franklin County Area Development, Waynesboro YMCA, Chambersburg YMCA, Coyle Free Library, Grove Family Library, Elks Lodge of Chambersburg, Penn National Golf Course Community, Sweet Dandelion and One North Main & Bakery Shop in Mercersburg and Cornerstone Financial.
“Bring any of the twelve donation items on any day and add to the collection containers at locations throughout Franklin County. Your gift to Sharing the Heart of the Holiday makes a difference in Franklin County,” said Janet Pollard of the Franklin County Visitors Bureau.
The Franklin County Visitors Bureau, Homeless Matters, and Grocery Outlet invite the public to join the cause by visiting one of the drop-off locations, beginning November 17. Items will be collected through December 5, 2022.
Franklin County Visitors Bureau thanks supporters for making the 3rd Annual Festival of Trees a success. Hosted at the Franklin County 11/30 Visitors Center in downtown Chambersburg, Festival of Trees raised $2700 for the Cumberland Valley Breast Care Alliance. It attracted more than 2500 visitors during the two-week period. Visitors from Michigan, New York, Florida, DC, and the tri-state area of Maryland, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania enjoyed 33 beautifully decorated trees and wreaths.
The beauty and success of Festival of Trees would not be possible without the decorators of the 2021 event. FCVB extends special appreciation to these decorators: the shop, Cumberland Valley School of Music, Mr. Phab Photos, Renfrew Museum & Park, Yoga with Melissa, Martin’s Potato Rolls, Conococheague Institute, Chambersburg Frontier Girls #576, Penn State Mont Alto Student Government Association, Coyle Free Library, Council for the Arts, Rotary Club of Chambersburg, OSI, Totem Pole Playhouse, Middletown Valley Bank, Carly Patla – Iron Valley Real Estate, ReMax Prestige Shippensburg and Carlisle, Franklin County Certified Tourism Ambassadors, Chambersburg Hearing, Shafer Equipment Co., Chambersburg Quilt Guild, Greater Waynesboro Chamber of Commerce, Boys and Girls Club of Chambersburg and Shippensburg, Cumberland Valley Breast Care Alliance, Greencastle-Antrim Chamber of Commerce, Willian F. Sellers Funeral Home, The Pet Store, YMCA of Chambersburg, Conococheague Audubon, F&M Trust, Dile Family, Marco, and Twin Bridge Campground.
The 4th Annual Festival of Trees is set to open on Saturday, November 19, 2022, and run through the First Friday of December—December 2, 2022. The event will be hosted in the lobby and Great Room of the 11/30 Visitors Center, formerly a bank from 1865 to 2015. FCVB hopes to increase the display to 50 trees and wreaths and again raise funds to support the Cumberland Valley Breast Care Alliance.
