Maidstone's Royal Eccentric Dynamic (RED) Hatters held their 4th annual Festival of Trees last week.
The four trees and over 100 items were on display all week in the atrium of the Maidstone Health Complex where they were enjoyed by patients, staff, bidders, community members and children from the elementary school.
More than 300 people signed the guest book and more than 200 people took a number to bid.
The event wrapped up on Saturday with entertainment in the Pine Island Lodge common area, horse drawn wagon rides and refreshments.
Queen Candy Ormiston was impressed with the community support of the event again this year.
"I feel it was wonderful. It was great again. I was up at the hospital this week and had staff asking 'couldn't you have left everything up for another week?'" she said.
The festival brings the spirit of the season with allsorts ofsights and sounds to the building for a week every November. Ormiston said she is happy with all of the publicity again this year saying it makes the next year's event better.
Bids came in strong all week with a rush of bidders and bids in the final minutes raising the totals and energy level in the building. After the bids had been tallied Saturday night the total was near $12,600. By the time bidders had picked up their items on Sunday the number rose to $13,000 and Ormiston said it could go higher still.
She says the staff at the health complex and the EMTs are working on wish lists to help decide where the money will be spent. One of the possible projects is a fence and more landscaping to create an outdoor area for lodge residents and hospital patients to enjoy.
The Red Hatters are already looking forward to next year when they will celebrate their 5th festival and in the meantime they'll have their own shopping to do for the health and comfort of the community and region.
