Harrison Thorp 9:04 a.m.
Saturday, December 1, 2018 9:06 am
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ROCHESTER - Rochester's Third Annual Festival of Trees is a two-day affair this year. A live auction was held on Friday and will be followed by the traditional raffle today.
Several folks showed up early on Friday evening to take a gander at what would be on the auction block, including John and Deanna Christiansen of Barrington, who said they were impressed by the detail in the decorations.
Both Friday and today's events are at Studley's Flower Garden's greenhouse at 82 Wakefield St. in Rochester.
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| Studley's Flower Garden and Greenhouse co-owner Molly Meulenbroek stands beside Studley's entry in this weekend's Festival of Trees. |
The spectacularly decorated trees often include valuable gifts in addition to beautiful decorations. This year features some Premium Trees with total values over $500.
Friday's auction featured live music, refreshments, and a sneak peek at trees available to win during Saturday's raffle.
Today's traditional Festival of Trees event is held 4-8 p.m. in the greenhouse and features refreshments, caroling starting at 5 p.m., and a visit from Santa Claus at 6 p.m. Guests can purchase raffle tickets to win dozens of fully decorated holiday trees and wreaths, including some premium trees. Admission today is $5 and includes 5 raffle tickets for the drawings. Children enter free. Additional raffle tickets are available for purchase to increase chances of winning.
The raffle drawings begin at 8 p.m. Event winners can collect their trees after the event concludes or on Sunday during the hours of 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Unclaimed trees and gifts will be forfeited.
Money raised from Festival of Trees benefits Rochester Main Street and downtown Rochester promotions and events.
Event sponsors include People's United Bank, Waterstone Properties and Studley's Flowers.
Molly Meulenbroek, co-owner of Studley's, said it was gratifying to see all the businesses and community organizations come together to make the important fund-raiser a success.