VERO BEACH — With the flick of a switch, Riverside Children’s Theatre lit up an enchanted forest of trees and decorations for the 14th Annual Festival of Trees, ushering in the traditional start of Vero’s holiday season.
At a Gala Preview Party Friday evening, guests were greeted by carolers, twinkling lights and tasty delights to an artfully creative winter wonderland.
“I think this is the prettiest one we’ve ever done. There’s just more of everything,” said Linda Downey, RCT director of education and festival coordinator. An expanded entryway provided additional space for café tables and vendor booths, and an enhanced floor plan indoors.
Designers were charged to create their imaginative trees, wreaths and gingerbread houses around the theme, A Season of Song. The process begins long before the event, as talented artists create and fine tune their ideas, and begin collecting or crafting all the various elements.
“Many of the designers come back year after year. They just love doing it,” said Nancy Ross, past RCT advisory board chairman.
From miniature to large, there were trees to suit every possible décor, and on Thursday afternoon, judges had the difficult task of determining the 2011 Festival winners.
Santa had already made an initial visit with seniors Friday morning at a Silver Bells Preview, but was also on hand for photos at the gala.
“More grownups want their pictures taken with Santa than kids,” chuckled the jolly old guy.
In one of the most outstanding Gingerbread Villages to date, the amazing Hark the Herald Angels Gingerbread Church designed by Marlina Badenhop, won not only best Gingerbread House, but also Best in Show. A peek inside the church, already resplendent with stained glass windows, revealed church pews and an angel conducting a full choir.
Pointing out an intricately decorated chalet with Santa and his reindeer perched on top, Ruth Ann Holt said, “Dale [Heffner], the chef at the hospital did that one. He always does such a fabulous job.”
Holt has designed Festival pieces for 13 years, and had contributed two wreaths, a centerpiece and a life-sized Santa. “It amazes me how people come up with such creative ideas every year.”
Just opposite the Gingerbread Village, lay Carol Kanarek’s Festival of Lights…Menorahs, an ever increasing sparkling collection of menorahs and dreidels, accumulated over the years.
“I’m so excited!” exclaimed Bonnie Andriotis. The Big Band Wonderland tree she and residents of Regency Park designed with 200 music-themed ornaments, won the blue ribbon as Best Traditional Tree. “We’re already planning our tree for next year, but I want a bigger one next time.”
Debbie Collins and Shotsi Lajoie won the Best Miniature Tree category for their hand-made ceramic nativity in a grotto, traditionally sacred sites for prayer, renewal and healing. Entitled Gloria in Excelsis Deo, this was their 11th nativity-themed tree, inspired this year by Michelangelo Caravaggio’s famous painting, The Nativity.
On a much less serious note, a miniature Jungle Bells tree, designed by Erin Metz and Gail O’Haire of Very Fitting, was chockfull of large and small snuggly animated animal hand puppets.
A Beatles inspired Let It Be tree, designed by Dr. Kathy Scures-Gutierrez and topped with a Yellow Submarine won as the Best Tabletop Tree.
A Land Remembered, designed by Martin Lavander of the Blue Ribbon Foundation, featured not only an animal ornamented tree, but an impressively built dog house constructed by Steve Dorrance.
Best Tall Tree was awarded to Peppermint Dreams, designed by Annmarie Chiarenza, and festooned top to bottom in red and white peppermint lollypops and all-day suckers.
Guests wandering the connected Agnes Wahlstrom Youth Playhouse, Anne Morton Theatre were never very far from food and drink stations, catered by Chelsea’s on Cardinal. Highlights included a do-it-yourself sundae bar, with martini glasses filled with gooey toppers, and a specialty eggnog drink that lived up to its name, Yule be Rockin’.
“This is always such a fun event,” said Ted Michael, enjoying a scrumptious peppermint ice cream sundae with wife Dawn and daughter Heather.
Vendor booths sprinkled throughout tempted with perfect gift ideas, and volunteers were selling a mouth-watering selection of homemade jellies, relishes, gourmet cheese spreads and holiday pickles. And beckoning with a sweet twinkle, the results of a mass-production gingerbread cake decorating party, held recently at the home of Faye Estes, were all wrapped and ready to go.
“We have a lot of fun doing it,” said Lyn Law, part of an army of volunteers who also made miniature Christmas trees. “We donate the materials to benefit the theater.”
A bright pink tree adorned with cupcakes and candies, aptly named “and Visions of Frosting Danced Through their Heads,” designed by Ashlee Wykoff and Barbara Monday of Frosting, was the dream of every child – and dentist.
Another little girl favorite was Pinkalicious, winner of the Best Contemporary Tree award. Designed by Liz Hancock and Mary Gerkin the adorable tree was based on the children’s book about precocious Pinkalicious, who eats so many pink cupcakes that she turns pink.
One tree attracting a lot of attention was Somewhere over the Rainbow, designed by Deb Daly and Susie Hastings of Decorative Arts which won the blue ribbon for Best Interpretation of a Theme. Adorned with large gold bulbs, painted with scenes and characters from the Wizard of Oz, there was also a pair of ruby slipper-clad feet peeking out from under the tree skirt.
“My grandson was so curious about it,” said Linda Downey. “He thought there was a real body under there.”
“The uniqueness of each tree is amazing; it defies reality,” said Dick Stark, a presenting sponsor. “You have to take yourself out of this realm. They all evoke such joy.”
The money raised by this major fundraiser for Riverside Children’s Theatre enables it to provide educational programs, arts and cultural enrichment to children from ages three and older in areas such as drama, dance, film and technical theatre.