Festival of Trees Continues 22 Year Tradition

Kelli McRobert | Dec 07, 2022

This past weekend was, yet again, jam packed with activities for community members to enjoy. The weather prompted many folks to head indoors as winds and rains continued to blow through the Frontenacs. Had we had snow, we would have been knee deep by the end of Saturday, fortunately it was just rain so many could venture out and not worry about snowplows, shoveling or slick road conditions.

Up in Sharbot Lake, the annual tradition of the Villages Beautiful Festival of Trees was launched on the Friday, as the judges reviewed the festive entries for the theme of ‘My Favourite Things’. There was a luncheon afterwards where the category winners were announced as volunteers, business owners, council members, and judges snacked on a tasty buffet of sandwiches, soup, and sweet treats at The Crossing Pub. Ken Fisher thanked everyone for coming and acknowledged the Shabot Obaadjiwan First Nation’s, before working his way through a well scripted agenda to keep everyone informed and on schedule, before they returned to Oso Hall for the official opening.

Each year, participants can decorate various sized trees, wreaths, baskets, or wall hangings, in celebration of a selected theme. The theme varies from year to year and offers an opportunity for creativity amongst residents and businesses. Each contestant purchases a tree and decorates it with a variety of items, or they can create their own themed based entry. Tickets are then sold to visitors who can try their luck at winning the creation through a randomly drawn raffle.

This year was a huge success as nearly 500 guests toured Oso Hall and purchased tickets, lining up as soon as the doors opened. A small canteen offered up drinks and snacks to visitors and you could take your time as you strolled through the lavishly adorned displays. Once you found an item of interest you could pop your ticket into a bin in the hopes of it being drawn at the end of the two-day fundraising celebration. There were quite a few unique entries including custom artwork, photographs, stained glass, pickleball lessons, and an acoustic guitar. Even a brief power outage could not darken the festive spirit as the Mayor and Bob Young swirled the entrants names in each bin and drew the winners under flashlight power.

The event itself is in it’s 22nd year and was the brainchild of Rosemary Bowick (RIP) who wanted to beautify the township and decided to gather a group of like-minded women to launch the initiative. Fast forward 20+ years and it is still a favoured event to celebrate the start of the Christmas season and the coming together of small communities in support of local projects.

To date, this group has supported numerous landscaping and enhancement ventures within Central Frontenac, with planters, flowers, and signage, to name but a few. Throughout the years, volunteers have come and gone, however, one was recognized for her extensive time supporting events within the Sharbot Lake community. Sally Angle was presented with a long-time service award for her benevolence and commitment to the area and is considered a mentor and source of knowledge during these annual activities.

In total $8500.00 was raised in support of the Villages Beautiful fund along with generous donations for the local Food Bank.

Thank you to the following judges: Diane Lake, Ken Waller, Ty Seeley, Lynn Klages, Beth Abbott, and Trudi Knapp.

*Winners have been personally notified for individual prizes.

See below for the list of Category winners.

Thank you to all the community members, donors, volunteers, and visitors who made this year a success!

For more information on the event or to donate you can find them on Facebook.

Festival of Trees Winners 2022

“Some of my favourite things”