Festival of Trees and Wreaths Spreads Holiday Cheer

Hi, I'm Eric Eicher, employee, owner, and president of Alpine Bank Durango. At Alpine Bank we believe in the power of community, and connecting you with the resources you need to work, live, and play in our community. I hope you enjoy this edition of "Community Insights."

The holiday season is here and there's no better way to spread some cheer than by supporting a local cause. Community Connections and Our Own Lives invite you to join in the 21st Annual Festival of Trees and Wreaths in Durango, happening December 6th through 8th from 12:00 to 5:00 PM at the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum. Over in Cortez, the 5th Annual Festival of Wreaths is lighting up the town now through December 8th. The event raises funds and awareness for two local nonprofits dedicated to supporting individuals with disabilities across Southwest Colorado.

All of our proceeds from the Festival of Trees go to these organizations, helping them stay local to these communities, and ensuring that our rural communities of Southwest Colorado have access to a lot of the same resources that people would expect to get on the front range and metro areas.

Community Connections and Our Own Lives are two local nonprofits that provide essential services to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

So we started the Festival of Trees itself in, what, 2003? And it was actually at the Fairgrounds for our first few years, which was nice 'cause you know, that's a big blank canvas, but it's also a big blank empty canvas to fill. And after a few years, Al Harper generously approached us about using the Durango Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad and their museum. We've been in the Grange a couple of years, been in the museum, and of course, as we look around, this museum is just such a superb setting for a holiday celebration.

In years past, the event has attracted over 1,000 visitors over the weekend long event at the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum.

We've been partnering with Community Connections to host Festival of Trees here at the train for over a decade now. And that partnership includes being the event space for the Festival of Trees itself. And so we're open throughout the winter as well, so folks can wander in even during times that it's not Polar Express, and check out the trees.

The museum will showcase 13 wreaths, and 26 sponsored Christmas trees. The event aims to raise around $60,000 through sponsorships as well as through an online auction.

We have made it a goal to keep this event accessible to everybody, so it is free to participate, to come down, to see, to go out and see the wreaths. So that's really what we invite and encourage people to do, partially because we want more folks to know what Community Connections, and Our Own Lives are doing in our communities.

If you can't make it to the event, you can still support the cause by participating in the online auction. Viewing begins November 25th, and the auction starts December 6th. For more information, visit their website. We're proud to present "Community Insights" powered by the Local News Network and sponsored by Alpine Bank. With "Community Insights," our mission is to foster a stronger and more connected community in La Plata County and beyond. For more information about this and other stories, visit durangolocal.news. Thank you for watching this edition of "Community Insights." I'm Sadie Smith.