LYNN — For a week beginning on Sunday, the Lynn Tech Annex will be lined by hundreds of highly decorated Christmas trees when public viewing for the eighth annual Festival of Trees officially gets underway.
The festival is organized by the Lynn Vocational Technical Alumni Association to support scholarships for Lynn Tech students, and public viewing will run for a week, closing on Nov. 19. Each year, dozens of community organizations and Lynn residents donate a variety of themed trees, and the event has grown to the point that thousands of dollars are raised for scholarships via donations, according to Alumni Association Board member Judith Josephs.
“Almost everywhere I go, somebody has said they’re participating,” she said. “So you’ve got hundreds of people for sure, and maybe thousands actually go through the Lynn Tech annex, they walk up and down the trees.”
During the festival, entrants, who pay a $5 fee to get in, can pay an additional $5 for 25 raffle tickets. Those tickets are then placed in front of trees or wreaths that they might be interested in taking home at the conclusion of the festival, and once the festival is closed, organizers will select a name from the collected raffle tickets and notify them that they have won and can collect the tree.
Diana Badger, one of the event organizers, said participants sometimes elect to place gift cards or other items like tickets on their trees. One year, Celtics tickets were up for grabs, she said.
“All of these donations, every single penny goes to the Lynn Tech awards program next May the scholarships and awards for students,” Josephs said, noting that in years past between $25,000 and $30,000 has been raised.
Entertainment will be offered at the festival throughout the week, with Santa stopping by on Friday, and Buddy the Elf concluding the festivities on Saturday.
Josephs emphasized that the festival represents an opportunity for the community to come together for a good cause, and to have some fun.
“It’s a grand celebration, and it’s a great community builder … food is going to be served … entertainment is going to happen … children [are] involved and [have] an opportunity to take home and actually make the decorations for their own trees at home. They’re going to make the decorations here. That is an amazing community builder,” she said. “In the times that we’re living in, I think that’s needed, a positive celebration.”
Charlie McKenna can be reached at [email protected]. Anthony Cammalleri can be reached at [email protected].
