December 8, 2019
By: Dwayne Page
More than 2,300 toys were collected for the Lighthouse Christian Camp Christmas Ministries and DeKalb County Foster Children during last week’s 2nd Annual Festival of Trees held at the County Complex.
The Elizabeth Chapel Baptist Church took top honors for DeKalb County Tree of the Year with 276 votes (gifts). To be named Tree of the Year, it had to have the most gifts placed under it.
Other award winners:
*Prettiest Tree: DeKalb Funeral Chapel
*The Spirit of Christmas Tree: Center Hill Realty & Chalets
*Christmas Unique Tree: The Vintage Owl
*Best Overall Themed Tree: DeKalb County Florist
*Most Touching Tree: Beth Tripp
*The Tree I want in my Living Room: Middle Tennessee Natural Gas & Smithville Assemblies of God
The 2nd Annual Festival of Trees opened to a packed house last Monday night at the county complex for the unveiling of an impressive collection of uniquely decorated Christmas trees.
The festival has quickly become a local holiday favorite and serves as a charity venue for non-profit groups.
The trees remained on display throughout the week and visitors to the complex were urged to vote for their favorites in several categories and to place gifts under the tree they liked the best.
Monday night’s event also featured FREE pictures with Santa on the North Pole Stage, refreshments, and the Christmas Shopping Court where vendor booths displayed delightful Christmas gift ideas for sale.
“The Festival of Trees has been a great success,” said founder and creator Josh Issac . The Festival of Trees has taken on a spirit of its own. So many people jumped in to help and participate this year and you could feel the excitement as we got closer to the event,” Issac continued. “With over 40 trees this year it was a must see and all the trees stepped it up this year. You could tell everyone was competitive for charity. This is such a reflection of how our community comes together and cares. That’s why I love to live here,” added Issac.
Rounding out the top 5 Trees this year were:
2nd Place: Christpoint Church
3rd Place: Outreach Baptist Church
4th Place: DeKalb West Jr. Beta Club
5th Place: DeKalb Department of Human Services