A Christmas tree titled “Santa’s Magic Key” stands tall at the 32nd annual Festival of Trees at Vern Burton Community Center in Port Angeles on Friday after it fetched the highest bid during Friday night’s gala auction benefiting the Olympic Medical Center Foundation. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)

A Christmas tree titled “Santa’s Magic Key” stands tall at the 32nd annual Festival of Trees at Vern Burton Community Center in Port Angeles on Friday after it fetched the highest bid during Friday night’s gala auction benefiting the Olympic Medical Center Foundation. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)

Festival of Trees gathers donations for hospital

Welcoming ceremony added to this year’s events

PORT ANGELES — The 32nd annual Festival of Trees netted a record $232,000 over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, according to the executive director of the Olympic Medical Center Foundation, which organized this year’s five events.

One of the 43 decorated Christmas trees earned $10,000 of that total.

“Santa’s Magic Key” drew the highest bid at the Festival of Trees Gala at the Vern Burton Community Center in Port Angeles on Friday.

The tree — which offered a premium of airfare and four days of luxury accommodations on Maui, Hawaii — was sponsored by The Lodge at Sherwood Village, Fifth Avenue Retirement and Sherwood Assisted Living and was designed by Sherry Phillips.

The gala presented by First Federal was one of the five events offered this year. Others were Wednesday’s opening ceremonies presented by the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, the Teddy Bear Tea presented by Erika Ralston Word and Windermere, the Senior Breakfast presented by Discovery Memory Care and Family Days presented by the Lodge at Sherwood Village, the Fifth Avenue and Sherwood Assisted Living.

“The event was extremely successful,” said Festival Chair Lindsay Fox. “Once again, this community showed that it supports advancing healthcare on the Peninsula so that patients can be treated locally.”

The festival kicked off on Wednesday with spectacular opening ceremonies, which featured Ballet Workshop, Ghostlight Productions and the Port Angeles Symphony.

They performed amid the lighting of LED-lit giant Christmas ornament displays, which were donated to the OMC Foundation by Microsoft.

“We were extremely honored to be the recipient of these displays,” said Bruce Skinner, foundation executive director.

“Not only were they used during the opening ceremonies, they also served as the entry way to all of our festival events.”

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