ESTEVAN - The St. Joseph's Hospital Foundation is once again looking forward to celebrating Christmas and the community during its biggest fundraiser of the year – the Festival of Trees, slated for Nov. 16 and 17.
Several events are once again slated for the weekend, starting with the Estevan Kinette Club's Christmas Marketplace at the Wylie-Mitchell Building and the Estevan Exhibition building at 10 a.m. Foundation executive director Lori Gervais said there will be lots of vendors coming to help people with their Christmas shopping needs and other purchases.
"The Kinettes are a super-important part of our fundraiser every year," said Gervais.
That night will be the 12th annual gala supper. It will start with the Jingle and Mingle Happy Hour, which Gervais said has been a popular addition, and then supper by EB's Catering will be served.
"It's something that has become a beloved event, a staple event, a traditional Christmas party for lots of businesses," said Gervais. "It's changed over the years. We pick out the good parts and try to keep things going that work well, but also give it a bit of a pizzazz every year."
This year the theme is Red Carpet, so Gervais said it will be a fancy evening. People are encouraged to play Black-Tie Bingo for the chance to win prizes. A similar event has been successfully tried at fundraisers elsewhere in Saskatchewan, she said.
"Bingo is something I think is pretty universal, everybody has had some experience with it and it's not going to take a lot of explaining for people to understand how to play," said Gervais.
There will also be a silent auction with items donated by businesses, organizations and people in the community, a live auction and music courtesy of Teagan Littlechief of the White Bear First Nations. Littlechief is no stranger to the community, as she has performed at a number of events.
She also sings O Canada prior to the start of Saskatchewan Roughriders' home games, has won several awards from the Saskatchewan Country Music Association and even won the first Estevan Idol contest in 2003.
"It's going to be fantastic, and it's something anytime I'm out in the community and people are asking me about the gala, as soon as I say Teagan's name, people are thrilled. Lots of people are excited to see her perform, but so many people who have seen her perform are thrilled and say she's the best of the best, so we're really excited about it. And I did hear through her manager that she's working on some Christmas music," said Gervais.
A few tables are still available by calling 306-637-2474 or by emailing [email protected]. The number of tables has increased from 65 last year to 75 in 2024.
The second day of the festival features the Hometown Family Fun Day, presented by the Estevan Mercury. This year's lineup includes Santa's Workshop at Affinity Place, starting at 10 a.m., with Christmas crafts and activities, Santa's Sleigh of gifts, Santa's library, family photos and a selfie station.
Other highlights will include a play zone with bouncy castles at the Estevan Leisure Centre's multipurpose room at 10 a.m., the inaugural North Pole playtime with crafts, stations and sensory activities at the Estevan Early Years Family Resource Centre, also at 10 a.m., a visit from Santa Claus at the Estevan Market Mall at noon, a family swim at the Access Communications Aquatic Centre at 1 p.m., and the chalet, with free milk and cookies for children, at McDonalds.
"This is something that we've built off of for many years, and it gives people … a day of activities, all free by donation," said Gervais.
Proceeds from the Festival of Trees will be directed to the fundraising campaign to bring an MRI scanner to the hospital. Gervais believes everyone in the community wants to participate in any way possible, and they all have a "very close to home" story of why it's important to them.
"It's not a hard sell. Everybody in our community absolutely agrees that it's an important project, and we've had some great success with fundraising, so I feel like this is another way that people can celebrate the foundation and also help an important cause, and celebrate a kick-off to Christmas," she said.
The campaign has generated more than $4.2 million, including the $2 million donation from Elaine Walkom in memory of her late husband Grant that kicked off the campaign. The goal is $6.5 million.
"People are reaching out quite often, asking how they can donate, and coming up with great fundraising ideas … so we are very open to any kind of people that want to participate with us," said Gervais.
