OTTUMWA, IOWA -- Pennsylvania Place in Ottumwa was looking more like the North Pole Friday, as hundreds of decorated trees lined the halls, all being sold for a good cause.
The 18th Annual Festival of Trees is taking place this weekend, with all of the proceeds benefiting Habitat for Humanity.
KTVO spoke with both Judy Engle and Barb Heckart, both from the Festival of Trees program, and each were hopefully that this year’s event would be as successful as previous years.
The ladies started planning for this year’s festival all the way back in February. They placed the order for the number of trees that would be sold at this year’s event.
The trees are then decorated by volunteers or companies from around the community.
“Companies, such as the hospital and John Deere run contests between their employees, and they decorate trees. It just keeps growing and growing,” said Engle.
Heckart says that every year, the ideas get better and better.
“I am just amazed at the uniqueness of each tree and how many ideas people come up with. It is a never-ending stream of ideas and they do just such nice work on the trees,” said Heckart.
Below is the schedule for the festival, including the pricing for the events.
Gala Grand Opening Reception
Friday, 11/18 – 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Admission $10
Festival Hours
Saturday, 11/19 – 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Admission $3
More information can be found on the Festival of Trees Hotline at (641) 683-2199.
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