Story by Kim Restall , photo by Mary P. Brooke    |         December 18, 2009

This December, Sooke is hosting its first Festival of Trees fundraiser at the SEAPARC Leisure Complex (2168 Phillips Rd) and the Sooke CASA building (2145 Townsend Rd) December 4 to Monday, December 28. This popular holiday charity event is hosted annually by cities across BC including Vancouver, Victoria, Nanaimo, and Port Alberni. These events support the BC Children’s Hospital, the only pediatric health care facility for children in the province.

The BC Children’s Hospital sees over 2,500 patients a year from all over Vancouver Island, 211 of which were from Sooke last year. For Emma Irwin (a local parent who coordinated the festival) this event really hits home. “Our daughter Daisy spent nine months at BC Children’s Hospital in 2005-2006 for treatment of high risk infant leukemia which included a bone marrow transplant,” said Irwin. That experience, combined with the desire to “ensure that every child has the absolute best medical care possible available,” is the motivation behind Irwin’s commitment to bringing the festival to Sooke. With support from SEAPARC, CASA, the District of Sooke, local sponsors, community volunteers and everyone who votes for the decorated trees, she feels that the festival will see great success in Sooke, which she describes as a “caring and energetic community”.

In addition to supporting the BC Children’s Hospital, the Festival of Trees gives local businesses the opportunity to sponsor and decorate a Christmas tree for display during the holiday season. For Sooke’s first year, 14 trees which received sponsorship from these donors: École Élémentaire Poirier - Poirier Elementary School Edward Milne Community School Student Leadership, District of Sooke, Family and Friends of Kevin Seeburger, Harbour Family Medical Clinic, Inc, Kid's Quest and Kid's Quest Too, Mudslinger Stucco LTD, Service Master Restore, Shoppers Drug Mart, Sooke Firefighters Association, Sooke Harbour District Girl Guides, Sooke Montessori, Stone Pipe Grill and Sunriver Childcare

The public is encouraged to donate in exchange for a ballot to vote for their favourite tree. Ballots will be accepted up until 5 p.m. on December 28; however donations are welcomed beyond that date. A “People’s Choice Award” will be given to the sponsor whose tree wins the most votes.

Sponsors receive name recognition in front of their tree and in a “Thank You Contributors” advertisement, and on the BC Children’s Hospital Foundation Sooke Festival of Trees website. Sponsors are provided with an 8-ft artificial Christmas tree and LED Christmas lights. The tree is then a blank canvas which sponsors can use to “showcase community leadership, creative flair and innovative themes”, barring any decorations that may prevent re-use of the trees in upcoming years (such as artificial snow, glue or craft products).

Irwin hopes to make this an annual event in Sooke. “We want lights and trees everywhere!” She would welcome the idea of displaying the trees in the under-construction Prestige Hotel in future, as many other cities use hotels for the festival. The event will hopefully be held for a longer period of time in upcoming years (other cities host from November through until January). To maximize donations, Irwin hopes more trees will be available in future years.

According to the festival website, this year’s donations will go towards building a new BC Children’s Hospital. The hospital, which will include a 28-bed Pediatric Intensive Care Unit and 70-bed NICU, has plans to be a supercentre that will transform pediatric healthcare by offering the latest medical technology and boasting the best caregivers and researchers from around the world. Irwin adds that “funds will also support the purchase of life saving equipment, the funding of world class research and the support of educational programs to keep BC's kids safe and healthy”. While there is no set fundraising goal this year, Irwin hopes that donations will increase each year.  MM

Website: www.sookefestivaloftrees.org  

Also see the Sooke Spirit Festival photo page (a day of festivities, December 5, 2009).