Event features food, musicians, dancers and 20 trees
Tara Kiene, president and CEO of Community Connections, works on the final preparations for the Festival of Trees in the Grange Events Center at the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad depot in Durango. The festival will be held from 1 to 6 p.m. Saturday. Trees will be on display until Jan. 2.
Jerry McBride/Durango Herald
Durango business Stone Age decorated this tree for the Community Connections Festival of Trees at the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad depot.
Jerry McBride/Durango Herald
The Arc of Southwest Colorado decorated one of the trees at the Community Connections Festival of Trees at the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad depot.
Jerry McBride/Durango Herald
Tara Kiene, president and CEO of Community Connections, works on the final preparations for Festival of Trees on Friday in the Grange Building at the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Depot in Durango. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald
A tree decorated by Stone Age for the Community Connections Festival of Trees on Friday in the Grange Building at the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Depot in Durango. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald
Tara Kiene, president and CEO of Community Connections, works on the final preparations for Festival of Trees on Friday in the Grange Building at the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Depot in Durango. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald
A tree decorated by Basin Printing and Imaging for the Community Connections Festival of Trees on Friday in the Grange Building at the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Depot in Durango. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald
A tree decorated by Serious Texas Bar-B-Q for the Community Connections Festival of Trees on Friday in the Grange Building at the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Depot in Durango. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald
A tree decorated by The Arc of Southwest Colorado for the Community Connections Festival of Trees on Friday in the Grange Building at the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Depot in Durango. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald
A tree decorated by Relay for Life for the Community Connections Festival of Trees on Friday in the Grange Building at the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Depot in Durango. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald
A tree decorated by Fort Lewis College for the Community Connections Festival of Trees on Friday in the Grange Building at the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Depot in Durango. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald
A tree decorated by Fort Lewis College for the Community Connections Festival of Trees on Friday in the Grange Building at the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Depot in Durango. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald
A tree decorated by The Juniper School for the Community Connections Festival of Trees on Friday in the Grange Building at the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Depot in Durango. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald
Extravagant Christmas trees will be glittering with holiday cheer this weekend as part of Community Connections’ annual fundraiser at the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad depot.
“It’s kind of a gift back to the community; it’s a way we can help people into a festive spirit,” said Tara Kiene, president and CEO of Community Connections.
The 14th annual Festival of Trees is expected to raise about $20,000 for Community Connections, a nonprofit that serves about 250 children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities in the region, Kiene said.
Donations from the event help the nonprofit to be more creative and flexible in its programs. For example, it can pay for passes to the Durango Community Recreation Center for clients, materials for activities or a weekend of respite for families caring for someone with a disability, she said.
“We can use it where it’s most needed at the time,” she said.
Businesses sponsored and decorated about 20 trees for the event, and those who attend the festival can win decorations and other gifts.
There will also be food, musicians, dancers and scavenger hunts for kids and adults at the two-day event.
The free festival will be held from 1 to 6 p.m. Saturday at the Grange Event Center at the railroad depot. The trees will be on display until Jan. 2.
