‘It’s Kind Of The Kick-Off To Christmas’: 32nd Annual Festival Of Trees Underway

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — The 32nd yearly Festival of Trees is underway. It’s online again this twelvemonth due to the fact that of the pandemic.

The lawsuit raises wealth for the Kennedy Krieger Institute but besides is simply a mode for families each implicit the country to get into the vacation spirit.

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“It’s benignant of the kick-off to Christmas for us,” Laurie Lovaas of Catonsville said. “It’s ever the archetypal Christmas lawsuit we do.”

The pandemic can’t halt the Festival of Trees. All of the events and amusive tin beryllium accessed for escaped done an online portal.

That’s besides wherever you tin presumption the festival’s trees, wreaths and gingerbread houses designed and donated by members of the community.

“It’s truly a portion of the cloth of ushering the vacation play for the Baltimore, cardinal Maryland area,” Kennedy Krieger Institute President and CEO Brad Schlaggar said.

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WJZ got an up-close, sneak peek astatine the hundreds of items. They tin beryllium purchased online and picked up from the Maryland State Fairgrounds.

There is simply a caller constituent to the festival this year, a artifact drive. People tin donate new, unwrapped toys astatine the fairgrounds for the children astatine Kennedy Krieger. Several families showed up Friday to donate.

“We’re bittersweet the full festival isn’t there, but we’re gladsome to inactive beryllium capable to donate,” Lovaas said. The institute hopes to clasp the lawsuit successful idiosyncratic adjacent year.

The Festival of Trees usually brings successful much than $1 cardinal for the institute which serves 25,000 patients and students a year. Last year’s virtual lawsuit brought successful astir $700,000. Organizers said that didn’t enactment a damper connected the event.

“What was astir important to america was making definite the lawsuit inactive happened,” Dr. Schlaggar said. “Like I said, for galore families, this is the ushering-in of the vacation season. We couldn’t miss that moment.”

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The lawsuit lasts done Sunday. For much information, click here. 

Jessica Albert