This year marks the 15th annual Festival of Giving Trees, an exhibit held at the LaSalle Reception Center on Main Street in Southbridge, November 29th through December 2nd. I had never been, so I decided it would be a good thing to do today. All proceeds are directed toward breast cancer research and advocacy; this year’s beneficiaries will be the Silent Spring Institute, the Massachusetts Breast Cancer Coalition, and the Cancer Center at Harrington Hospital.

The entrance fee is only $3, but most people buy raffle tickets which allow them to win a specific tree. I didn’t really understand the system, so I didn’t participate. Instead I enjoyed the music by singer-songwriter Noah Lis and tried to take photos of the trees that struck my fancy. My camera doesn’t take good photos indoors, so I apologize for the quality.  There were over a hundred trees, each decorated by a person or organization.  My exhibit booklet lists them all, but I didn’t take notes, so I’m not captioning either the tree name or the creator; I don’t want any egregious errors to creep into this post.

This tree has an Italian theme; the garlands are made of pasta.

Here’s a Valentine’s Day theme.

I used to enjoy making these “Eye of God” yarn ornaments.

This tree has a Hawaiian theme; the garlands are leis.

I thought this was an unusual design.

Little girls love pink.

Here’s nostalgia for the 80s.

The garlands are made of sheet music.

This was the most lavish tree-topper; it’s quite patriotic.

I only stayed in Southbridge for about an hour, because I had planned to attend another seasonal event today.  Shortly before 6 pm, I dragged myself out of the house to our town center. At the intersection of School Street and Main, we drank hot cocoa and ate cookies while we waited for Santa Claus to arrive. He came in a horse-drawn carriage, which was very cool.

We’re waiting in front of the Town Hall, listening to the school band play carols.

Then the lights came on, and our tree looked so beautiful against the dark night.

The North Brookfield Tree is lit.

Although it’s been held around this time of year for ten years, I had forgotten about stART until I heard about it by chance in an email I received last week.  I decided I wanted to go again, so I asked two friends if they’d like to accompany me, and they said yes.  So Anne drove the three of us to Worcester this morning, and we spent the next three hours browsing among the stalls set up on Park Avenue, listening to the street musicians, and feasting on street food.

We were hungry when we arrived, so Anne and I shared a cheese pizza from Fire ‘n’ Slice.  Fortunately for our vegan friend Hugh, the Loving Hut had a booth at the Food Court so he picked out some items from their menu.

The stART website notes that there were

Over 250 artists & crafters, including jewelry, painting, sculpture, soap, candles, lotions, blown glass, drawing, textiles, pet goods, youth artists, woodwork, mosaic, photography, stained glass, ceramics, henna, and so much more

and we saw every one of them.  Not being an artistic-type myself, I really admire people who have a unique vision and can create beauty out of any kind of material, even junk that would end up in landfills.  I am always interested in jewelry, so I looked especially longingly at the earrings.  But none of us bought anything this year, though I did note the websites of artisans whose creations especially intrigued me (Lou’s Upcycles, Carolina’s recycled glass jewelry, and Liz’ lush beads).

Local non-profit organizations also have a presence at stART, and I collected fliers from the Worcester Women’s History Project and the Worcester Chamber Music Society.  We also stopped at the UMass Medical School booth and the Veg Worcester booth.

I’m sure there was something for everyone, including music aficionados, as I counted more than two dozen performers at three different stages.  All in all, it was a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon on the street in Worcester.