BOISE, Idaho — The 40th annual Festival of Trees kicked off at the Boise Centre on Tuesday, Nov. 26. This year, the event is once again helping support the Saint Alphonsus Cancer Institute.
- The festival has a variety of events and attractions running through Monday, Dec. 2.
- Roughly 80 beautifully decorated holiday trees will be available for auction.
- Admission is $6 for children, seniors, and military; $10 for adults. Tickets can be purchased online at saintalphonsus.org.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story.)
Tracy Mooney joins us and she has been involved with the Saint Alphonsus' Festival of Trees for 13 years.
"Yes, I've been totally behind the scenes for 13 years and this year I'm serving as chair for the whole entire week. It's going to be kind of crazy."
When you look around here, it looks absolutely fabulous — if you want to get into the holiday spirit, this is it.
"Well, it's magical," said Mooney. "It is the color, it is the season, it is pulling in the vintage Idaho wintry wonderland. We have trees that are themed with cooking and trees themed with toys and entertainment. You name it and we have it."
And "color" is especially important this year.
"Oh, it's the Ruby anniversary. It's the 40th anniversary," Mooney said. "I'm thrilled to be involved with the 40th anniversary because it does involve all the jeweled things and beauty that we know in the winter."
The beneficiary this year is the same as it was last year — the Cancer Institute at Saint Alphonsus.
"That's very near and dear to my heart," Mooney said. "I'm a 2019 survivor of ovarian cancer and last year when I was at the gala I had just recurred and I was going through chemo treatments."
"I am now through those treatments," Mooney continued. "I showed negligible signs of cancer, but you can see how important this would be, not only for treatment and recovery, but for the prevention and early detection. We can make a difference in the valley — and what we're hoping with the funds that are dedicated to the Cancer Institute is expand the services to our patients that are in the valley."
