After a busy Thanksgiving week of turkey feasts and shopping small, families across Thurston County are just starting to think about how they will trim their Christmas trees this year.
However, as families head to local u-cut farms and begin hauling down dusty ornaments from the attic, one group of local designers has already put the finishing touches on their Christmas display.
Now in its 28th year, Christmas Forest — Providence St. Peter Foundation’s largest fundraising event — continues to be a favorite way for local families to ring in the start of the holiday season.
A dazzling display of lights, ornaments and clever accents, designers are already thinking about their trees for next year — that’s how much time and planning goes into an event like this.
Designer Ashley McBride says the process starts about a year in advance. “Designers will typically start planning for the following year right after Christmas, when all the decorations and ornaments go on sale.” Each designer is given a budget to work with, so a good sale can help stretch those dollars further.
In her fifth year designing trees for Christmas Forest, Ashley says that the event is very sentimental. Growing up, attending Christmas Forest with her family was an annual tradition for Ashley.
But Ashley has a unique perspective that not all other designers share. As a critical care nurse for Providence St. Peter Hospital, Ashley is also able to see firsthand the benefit Christmas Forest’s Fund-A-Need has on the community. “The foundation’s ability to identify the best need for the community each year is spot on,” Ashley says. “And the Fund-A-Need this year is very appropriate.”
This year, proceeds from Christmas Forest go toward building a community care center designed to help Thurston County’s most vulnerable residents.
Like Ashley, designer Darla Krug also recognizes the importance of the Fund-A-Need. Darla is a former labor and delivery nurse and her husband is a surgeon at Providence St. Peter Hospital.
This is why when Darla left her job to be a stay-at-home mom, she knew she had to find some way to give back to her community. Wanting to support the hospital and the local medical community, Darla volunteered to serve on the foundation’s Gala Auction Committee eight years ago.
The more time Darla spent volunteering, the more she wanted to contribute. Darla’s friend and fellow volunteer Cheryl Reeser felt the same and suggested that the two design a tree together.
“This year will be our fifth tree,” Darla says. In addition to getting to exercise her creativity and help spread some holiday cheer, Darla knows how much her tree benefits the community — and that’s why she keeps coming back, year after year.
This year, Christmas Forest takes place at Red Lion Hotel in Olympia from Wednesday, December 2 through Sunday, December 6, with four public viewing days, Ladies Night Out, and Friday’s signature Gala Dinner and Auction — Providence St. Peter Foundation’s premier fundraising event.
Public viewing times take place Wednesday, December 2 from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.; Thursday, December 3 from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.; Saturday, December 5 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Sunday, December 6 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Admission is $6 for adults, $5 for seniors and $1 for children ages 12 and younger.
In addition to the dazzling display of trees, Christmas Forest visitors will also enjoy live entertainment daily from local musicians and bands, as well as a visit from Santa on Saturday, December 5. Although, if you it’s more entertainment you seek, this year’s Christmas Forest programming offers two ways to kick up your heels.
Grab your girlfriends — on Wednesday, December 2 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., enjoy sipping, snacking and shopping your way through the forest during this ladies only event. (Registration is required.)
Then on Friday, December 4, get your paddles ready to bid during the Gala Dinner and Auction. That evening, gala-goers are invited to eat, sip and bid on a variety of wreath, trees and specialty items, and support this year’s Fund-A-Need, which you can learn more about in this article published earlier last week on ThurstonTalk. Tickets for this formal event must be purchased in advance online.
Round-up the family and kick start the holidays all while supporting the health and vitality of your community during Christmas Forest, Wednesday December 2 through Sunday, December 6 at Red Lion Hotel, located at 2300 Evergreen Park Drive SW, Olympia.
For more information — including a full calendar of live entertainment —visit Christmas Forest online.
