Hospital Raised $45,000 With Festival Of Trees

Abington Memorial Hospital's fourth annual "June Fete Festival of Trees" attracted about 12,000 people and raised about $45,000, according to Judy Sheppard, chairwoman for the event.

Sheppard said that festival officials were still counting proceeds from the event, Nov. 27 through Nov. 29, and that the final total might equal the $47,000 raised last year. The annual event is a fund-raiser for the hospital.

"It was a tremendous committee effort with unbelievable cooperation on everyone's part," Sheppard said, adding that about 800 volunteers contributed to the festival.

"Everyone was tired, but everyone came through it smiling," she said.

The event featured 50 Christmas trees decorated by volunteers that were displayed in mirrored ballrooms at the Castle at Beaver College. The $45,000 was raised partly through admission charges and sales of the trees to corporations and individuals. Many of the purchasers donated the trees to area charities, including local orphanges and the Shriners Hospital for Crippled Children in Northeast Philadelphia.

At the Castle, many trees were hung with unusual decorations, including teddy bears, sheep and dolls of favorite nursery-rhyme characters. Themes for the decorations included "Fleece on Earth, Good Wool to Ewes," "Frosty's Christmas Tree," "Cinderella's Christmas," "A Ukrainian Christmas" and ''A Warm Fuzzy Christmas."

This year, the setting for the event was expanded from two to three ballrooms at the Castle. The change reduced waiting times for spectators. Last year, some spectators waited up to two hours. This year, the waiting time averaged about 20 minutes, Sheppard said.

"It made for better display and better traffic flow," Sheppard said.

This year's event also featured a village of gingerbread houses, model

trains and Santa Claus. The event annually attacts between 10,000 and 12,000 people, Sheppard said.