LAC LA BICHE - “A tree-mendous success.”
Pat Boon-Anderson knows it’s a cliche line, but when a weekend tree raffle raises $80,000 from ticket sales, she’s ready to go out on a limb to show her excitement.
The 2024 Festival of Trees sold out 80,000 raffle tickets. Although the tickets sell out most years, this was the first time the organizing crew behind the event had printed that many of the dollar-apiece tickets.
“It’s the most money we’ve raised,” said Boon-Anderson, who was one of the founding organizers of the event that got its start back in 2010 as a small event inside a local school’s gymnasium with about a dozen locally-decorated trees.
This year, the Festival of Trees was held in the large Community Room at the Lac La Biche Bold Center and featured 56 trees. While the number of trees was down by a few entries from recent years, organizers upped last year’s 70,000 tickets by an additional 10,000. The extra ticket sales mean extra funds for local groups who split the proceeds.
In addition to $80,000 made from raffle ticket sales, this year’s Festival of Trees also brought in $1,500 from a 50/50 draw. Boon Anderson explained that various community sponsors also donated to the event.
“That money is divided by the number of groups who sold the tickets. We donate $10,000 right off the top for “Kids are Worth It” school food program,” she stated. “People support this raffle because the proceeds go to the kids.”
The event is also a spectacle of colour and lights that showcases the generous donations of local groups and businesses. Boon-Anderson says it’s also just really nice to walk into a big hall filled with all things Christmas.
She says people come from near and far just to experience the festival. She says the festival is important as it brings people to the Lac La Biche area and creates memories by having family activities for all to enjoy.
“It brings the whole community-county together to bring hope to the future,” she said. “This is a very looked-forward-to event in this community.”
Now that the Festival of Trees is over for another year, Boon-Anderson said organizers will need to debrief and finish up all the paperwork and costs for this year. Once the net proceeds are known, they will be divided among community groups. Those cheque presentations will take place next February ... as the planning for the 2025 edition of the Festival of Trees will take root again.