AKRON, Ohio — One of Northeast Ohio’s warmest holiday traditions opens Saturday, and every tree inside it is for sale for a good cause. Akron Children’s 45th annual Holiday Tree Festival runs November 14 through 22 at the John S. Knight Center, 77 E. Mill Street in downtown Akron, the hospital announced.
The free festival will feature 154 decorated trees, 84 wreaths and 179 holiday gifts for purchase, according to Akron Children’s. The trees run from classic themes — angels, gingerbread men, candy canes, snowmen and woodland animals — to pop-culture creations tying in Dolly Parton, Harry Potter, Star Wars, Charlie Brown, Dory and the Grinch, the hospital says.
The festival is presented by the volunteers of Akron Children’s and is the hospital’s single biggest fundraising event. Since its beginning, it has raised over $7.9 million to benefit medical research, education and patient care programs at Akron Children’s, according to the hospital.
“Our Holiday Tree Festival seems to grow more popular every year and we love keeping it free for the community,” event chair Susan Berk said in Akron Children’s announcement. “That’s made possible because of the dedication of our sponsors, decorators, hundreds of volunteers and those who buy the trees and décor.” Berk told Akron Children’s the trees are brought to life by local businesses, nonprofits, scout troops and individuals, calling it “a community-wide endeavor.”
Santa Claus will be on hand throughout the run, and several dozen choirs, orchestras and instrumentalists will perform holiday favorites, according to Akron Children’s. The festival ribbon cutting is Saturday, November 14 at 10 a.m., and the popular Breakfasts with Santa are scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, November 14 and Saturday, November 21, with registration online, the hospital says.
Hours are built for both weekend crowds and weekday visits: Saturday, November 14 runs 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Sunday, November 15 runs 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Monday through Friday, November 16 to 20, the festival is open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., before a final weekend on November 21 and 22, according to Akron Children’s.
Behind the display rows are the stories Signal Akron found among this year’s decorators — including a tree named “Cat-astrophic,” inspired by its creators’ cat, Tallulah, with stuffed cats hanging from its branches, Signal Akron reports. Akron Children’s own blog tells of a Garfield Community Learning Center teacher, Carrie Soful, who has donated trees since the mid-1990s and this year transformed discarded materials into a tree titled “Play It Again Rammy,” Akron Children’s reports.
Another family tree, “Reach for the Stars,” celebrates a 10-year-old’s love of space with stars, planets and astronauts, according to Akron Children’s. Those personal stories are the festival’s engine: every decorated tree a visitor buys takes both the decoration and the donation home.
The model is simple and durable. Admission stays free, so families can wander the Knight Center at no cost; the fundraising happens when trees, wreaths and gifts are purchased, sending the money to patient care, research and education, according to Akron Children’s. Forty-five years in, that formula has produced more than $7.9 million.
For more good news from around Ohio, see our coverage of the Marietta Community Foundation’s new Anchor Grant backing one nonprofit leader and of the Ohio University Zanesville blanket drive keeping local families warm this winter.
The celebration actually begins a night early. The festival’s preview gala runs 5:30 to 10 p.m. Friday, November 13 at the Knight Center, the Akron Beacon Journal reports, before Saturday morning’s public ribbon cutting — a first look for supporters ahead of the nine free public days.
The money stays close to home. Akron Children’s serves families through two hospitals, 46 pediatric offices and more than 50 primary and specialty locations with over 1,000 providers, according to the hospital — so the research, education and patient care programs the festival funds reach children across Northeast Ohio, not just in Akron.
What happens next: doors open at 10 a.m. Saturday with the ribbon cutting at the John S. Knight Center. Families planning a Breakfast with Santa should register online in advance through akronchildrens.org/treefestival, Akron Children’s says — the two Saturday breakfasts, November 14 and 21, are the festival’s most in-demand seats.