Since November 17, 54 festively decorated trees have been on display in the lobby at Novant Health Matthews Medical Center.
The trees were decorated and submitted by local individuals, businesses and organizations. The opportunity to create a tree for display was open to any person or business by application beginning in September.
This year’s trees included submissions by diverse organizations such as Chick-fil-A Matthews, Charlotte International Association of Home Staging Professionals (Regional Chapter), Christian Adoption Services, Girl Scouts Hornets Nest Council (Meck 8 Service Unit) and Greater Matthews Habitat for Humanity.
This year’s exhibit included a great mix of classic, whimsical and themed trees. Matthews Help Center, for example, submitted an elegant and classic tree for auction trimmed in red and gold ornaments, gold garlands and red poinsettias. Novant Health Matthews Medical Center Administration created another classic tree for auction trimmed with a gradient of gold, green, blue, purple and red ornaments.
Other groups used their trees to showcase their products and services, such as the Girl Scouts Hornets Nest Council, who trimmed their tree with girl scout cookie ornaments or Rodgers Builders, whose “under construction” tree was in the process of being decorated by elves. Still others chose unique themes for their trees, such as Coatings 2000’s Candyland-themed tree or Liberty Buick’s patriotic red, white and blue tree.
The Festival of Trees began with a tree-lighting ceremony on the evening of November 17. The event included live holiday music, hot cider, lots of holiday treats and a visit from Santa Claus. Hundreds of community members attended the event, and Santa stayed late into the evening in order to visit with every child.
The Festival of Trees is not only a fun holiday event but also a fundraiser for the Matthews Medical Center Fund, which funds critical needs at Matthews Medical Center and healthcare-related initiatives in the Matthews Community. From November 17 through December 5, visitors were able to bid on over half the trees on display. Auction winners can begin taking their trees on 12/12, though the non-donated trees as well as the auctioned trees that have yet to be picked up will remain on display through December 26. Last year’s auction raised over $4000.00 for the Matthews Medical Center Fund.
You can visit the Festival of Trees any time between 8:00 am and 9:00 pm through December 26.
