Festival of Trees, silent auction cancelled; craft show to be held online

After Governor Kim Reynolds issued a new proclamation last week, the Board of Directors of the Northeast Iowa Wellness and Recreation Center made the difficult decision to cancel this year’s Festival of Trees at the Center. The Governor’s mandate limiting community and leisure gatherings to no more than 15 people at an indoor venue dictated the cancellation.

It is hoped that the Festival of Trees will be back, bigger and better, in 2021.

The silent auction that was being held in conjunction with the Festival has also been canceled. Many of the donated items for the silent auction will also be carried over to the next year. Director Melanie Bauch said, “We are not able to offer the silent auction items virtually as many of our donors specified that their donations be only be sold to in-person bidders.

Although Jennifer Olsen will not be having her wreath-making classes in person, there is a chance the she will be teaching some crafting classes virtually between now and the end of the year. Stay tuned for more information.

A new feature this year was offering to-go treats through Hurt’s Donut vehicle and the Wiley Coyote Food Truck. Hopefully, with the pandemic under control by this time next year, the Festival will not only be able to offer to-go food, but perhaps it will be able to be purchased on-site.

With the Country Christmas Craft Boutique organizers choosing not to have a sale this year, the Wellness Center had opted to host a craft and vendor sale at the same time as the Festival of Trees.
That sale, although not in person, is still happening. 

Bauch explained, “We are hosting a virtual vendor and craft show on Facebook, we have an event page set up for it.”

Vendors and Crafters from the show will be able to post their websites for shopping or photos of the items they sell along with the price and the contact information, then the shopper and seller will connect to arrange payment and pick up or shipping of the items. NEIAWRC wanted to be able to support the crafters and vendors who had planned to attend the show and connect them with shoppers. We encourage everyone to support our local entrepreneurs.”

For a complete list of the vendors, log on to the Northeast Iowa Wellness and Recreation Center’s Facebook page.