Hundreds of hours have been put in for the building of Christmas trees for the Boys and Girls Club of Santa Clarita Valley’s 24th annual Festival of Trees, which is scheduled for Nov. 20-22.
Roughly 25 large trees and 25 tabletop trees are being built to kick off the holiday festivities.
Matt Nelson, CEO of the SCV Boys and Girls Club, said the tree designers start building the trees in early October and come into the process with a certain theme they want to do on the trees.
“The designers come in and design (the trees), and they take more effort than your standard tree at home, because we put them on these bases that they can be wheeled around, because they’re going to get moved a bit … and then the ornaments are actually tied on (to the tree) so that they last when they get moved around. They put a lot of effort into it,” Nelson said.
Nelson said the process can take a while because a tree designer could make a creative choice, decide they do not like it and start over.
Kristin Dervin, lead designer of the Festival of Trees, said one of her trees has taken about two weeks to get to where it was on Monday afternoon.
Dervin said her inspiration was from polar bear figurines she saw, and the tree was flocked, which means it mimics the look of snowfall attached to the tree.
“And decided I wanted it, and well the first thing was … I saw the tree, and I fell in love with the tree and the branches, because it was very unique. It wasn’t your traditional flocked tree. So, I liked how it was almost like a Dr. Seuss tree,” Dervin said. “It was a little limpy, and so I didn’t want to take away from the tree itself, so I went with the light colors and just to make sure that my, the branches are my focal point.”
Dervin said the reason the trees take a long time is because they wire all the ornaments and other materials to the tree to make sure it stays together for a long time.
“When the viewers come to view the trees, they do think that … it’s easy to do at home, but I don’t think that they realize that we have to wire every little thing down, so it’s just so time consuming. And so, when they’re bidding on a tree, it’s the time of having a designer put into this tree and go drive around trying to find what they want to fill their vision,” Dervin said.
On a recent afternoon, Nichole Garrett, who is one of the tree designers, was working on one of the four trees she is assembling.
She was wiring ornaments and ribbons to a Los Angeles Kings-themed tree that will be a part of a package including L.A. Kings tickets.
Garrett said she has been a part of the design team for three years and just loves the camaraderie among the team members.
“We help each other out a lot. That’s been one of the best parts of doing this, is that you just build relationships, so they know if I happen to be at Hobby Lobby for the 10th time this week, and someone needs champagne ornaments or burgundy or specific blue, then they’ll ask if we can grab it. So, we do look out for each other and see what each other needs, for sure,” Garrett said.
She said her favorite part of the festival is the joy on people’s faces no matter how old they are.
One aspect Garrett enjoys is the fact that it helps support the Boys and Girls Club, a cause she thinks is fantastic. Garrett added she enjoys the entire experience, from start to finish.
“The whole process. It’s fun to just see an ornament or a cup or a pillow, and that’s, then your brain just starts going wild. Oh my gosh, these colors would be perfect. Or this would be amazing. This is what I love about this. So, to really then go and just put it all together,” Garrett said.
The SCV Boys and Girls Club’s Festival of Trees is scheduled to be held Nov. 20-22, with the Magic of the Lights gala on Friday, Nov. 20, from 5:30-9 p.m. at the Valencia Town Center.
Tickets for the gala are $150 and can be purchased at tinyurl.com/yrtmpvp9.
Community days to see the trees will be held throughout the weekend as follows:
- Friday, Nov. 20 – 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- Saturday, Nov. 21 – 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Sunday, Nov. 22 – 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for children, military and seniors. The address is 24201 Valencia Blvd., Valencia.
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