Tracy Brown and Susan Levesque decorate the Redmond Moose Lodge tree which was auctioned off during the 40th Annual Festival of Trees held at the Deschutes County Fair & Expo Center in Redmond.  

Redmond’s beloved annual Festival of Trees transformed the Deschutes County Fair & Expo Center into a dazzling Christmas wonderland, bringing in hundreds of thousands of dollars to support Hospice of Redmond.

On Dec. 1 the South Sister Conference Hall building at the fairgrounds was full of activity as volunteers worked throughout the day to decorate dozens of donated trees, each distinctly themed and accompanied by numerous gifts, in preparation for auction at a gala event the next day.

The gala on Dec. 2 generated more than $200,000, which will help fund a number of programs administered by Hospice of Redmond, the organization’s executive director, Jane McGuire said.

“I am in awe of the kindness, generosity, and support of this community. People give of their time, their talents, and their finances to make this happen and we couldn’t do what we do without them,” McGuire told the Spokesman after the event.

A family tradition 40 years in the making

Sarah Pierce, 43, has been participating in the tree festival every year for nearly her entire life. She began helping decorate trees with her mother Jaime Williams 40 years prior, when the event was born. Pierce was about four years old when she decorated her first tree, she said, pointing to a photograph of her as a smiling child standing next to the her mother’s first tree.

For Pierce, the event holds a special place in her heart.

“I love the holidays. I just love Christmas,” said Pierce. “The older you get, Christmas isn’t as fun as it used to be when you were a kid. The excitement is gone. So you have to keep that alive for yourself and this is how I do that. This is one of my favorite things to do every year.”

In her time, Pierce has decorated a number of trees with whimsical themes like the Wizard of Oz, Alice in Wonderland, the Grinch and Moana, among others. Her trees have brought in a lot of money for Hospice of Redmond over the years, she said. While it is a lot of work, she wouldn’t have it any other way.

“It’s the ambiance of the whole thing. It’s the Christmas spirit. Doing things as a community. Just getting together with everybody. Planning a different tree every year is kind of fun,” said Pierce.

Pierce’s mother Jamie Williams said her daughter’s trees often outshine her own. But she doesn’t let that get her down, because it was Williams who fostered her daughter’s enthusiasm for the event.

“I had something to do with it,” said Williams, as she thumbed through a personal photo album showcasing how her own trees grew in both size and elegance as the decades unfolded.

Lauren Lebian, the marketing and outreach director for Hospice of Redmond said because hospice is a free service funded by Medicare, the money goes toward certain hospice programs that are not covered.

Some of the programs the money will help fund include the organization’s Transitions program for people with life-limiting illnesses, Camp Sunrise, a summer camp designed to help children in Central Oregon who have suffered trauma to process their grief, and the Pet Peace of Mind program, which helps hospice patients care for and eventually rehome their pets, Lebian said.

The set up

On Friday, Melanie Kowalewski of Redmond was wearing a red Grinch sweater while hard at work decorating a ruby red Christmas tree in honor of the event’s 40th anniversary. This is Kowalewski’s ninth year donating a tree and decorating it for the gala, she said.

“It is a way I can donate,” said Kowalewski. “Because maybe I can’t purchase a tree, but this is a way I can still be a part of it and still give … It is always myself and my family that put it together along with community members that have donated and pitched in. So it is literally a community effort for this tree, which makes it extra special.”

Kowalewski said she began participating in the event with her late mother 9 years ago, and decided to continue the tradition with her own children. She said she begins thinking about next year’s tree as soon as the event is over, because it takes all year to get a tree totally prepared for auction.

“I can’t believe it has been 9 years,” she said. “And that I can get be a part of something so truly magical and a huge blessing for our end of life care program that we have. So many of us don’t realize it is out there until we have a loved one who is at the end of life. Hospice can definitely be a lifesaver not only for the patient, but for the family, and that is really who they are there for.”

The night of the gala

On Dec. 2, on the evening of the gala, the South Sister Conference Hall building at the fairgrounds was transformed into a ballroom teeming with bedazzling trees. Hundreds of participants mingled with drinks and hors d’oeuvres.

Prior to the event starting, Paul Schultz, the auctioneer for the tree festival for 19 years running, was busy preparing for the big night. He said he has seen the event grow bigger, and more profitable over the years and recalled a tree going for over $20,000 one year. He said he enjoys doing what he does best to help raise funds for Hospice of Redmond.

“It is just fun to see people jump in and start bidding on a tree. Sometimes it slows down and stalls out, and then to see it take off again is really great and a lot of fun,” Schultz said. “Everybody here could be somewhere else tonight. Life is busy. But they have chosen to be here because they value what Hospice does.”

One of those attending was Jared Anderson of Select Care Dental in Redmond. Anderson said this year is his seventh year participating in the tree festival, and that he enjoys buying multiple trees each year. He also believes in supporting Hospice, which is one reason he comes back year after year.

“I try to always be helping out people in the community on all different levels, and this just happens to be the one where it is the seniors that it is helping,” Anderson said. “These are people that are truly in need at a vulnerable time in their life, and I think any help they can get to be comfortable and happy, I am happy to contribute.”

Bob Swift of Swift Steel in Redmond was also among the guests at the tree festival gala. Swift said his father started participating in the event in the 1990s when his grandmother went through hospice care.

“I’ve lost both my parents, and my wife has lost both of her parents in the last 10 or 15 years, and Hospice has been there. What they do is very special and I want to support that,” Swift said.