Local elves are working feverishly on their one-of-a-kind Christmas trees, wreaths, gingerbread houses and Santa Clauses to be displayed and auctioned off at the 22nd annual Festival of Trees on the campus of Riverside Theatre Nov. 22-24.
Themed ‘Winter Wonderland’ this year, FOT is the major fundraiser for the Riverside Theatre Scholarship program and has become the community’s premier holiday event, offering twinkling holiday lights, a Christmas Shoppe, Winter Gardens, Santa’s Village and even an ice-skating rink.
The highlight is strolling through a forest of nearly 100 trees in the Children’s Theatre, as well as decorative wreaths, gingerbread houses and Santa Clause figures, all created by local artists who are as unique as their designs.
A resident of Vero Beach for nearly 45 years, Jean Clark has designed trees and wreaths for the past seven years. The effervescent 90-year-old begins planning her designs in March.
“Once I decide on the theme, I start hand-crafting and painting the ornaments,” she explains. “Nothing on my trees is store bought. I’ve been a judge in the past and I looked for originality. To me that is what really differentiates one tree from another.”
This year Clark will donate two trees – one with a Nativity theme and another with an Irish lilt.
“Research is the first step in the creative process for me. I want my paintings and be as real and accurate as possible,” says Clark. Previous trees have featured seascapes, mermaids, angels and local wildlife.
“I’ll get up in the middle of the night and paint for 12 to 14 hours straight,” says Clark. “The creative process is one that starts in my brain, goes into my hand and comes out of the paintbrush.”
Clark retired nearly 20 years ago from a successful interior decorating firm she ran for decades on Royal Palm Pointe, and says she had always enjoyed painting murals, especially in children’s rooms.
“Exposure to art helps develop young minds. Just imagine the difference between a baby lying in a crib looking a blank wall, verses a baby who can look up and see a rainforest or seascape. The baby exposed to art will be happier and more curious for sure.”
Clark says she enjoys donating her talent to local charities, confiding with an aside, “I’m kind of a selfish giver. I think I get more out of it than the recipient does. Painting is therapy to me, and even though I don’t get paid for the charity work I do, I get a deep satisfaction. I call it my psychological paycheck.”
Creating life-like Santas and Father Christmases is Ruth Ann Holt’s specialty; something she has done for the festival for 22 years. Her realistic sculptures range from 18-inches tall to life-sized, and are meticulously crafted with fur trimmed velvet coats sporting antique buttons, lamb’s wool beards and hair, and eyes that shine with Swarovski crystals.
“I start by making an armature from PVC pipe and cover it with batting,” Holt explains. “The skull is hand-sculpted or made with a soft material and covered with a thick, flesh-colored felt. I hand-sculpt the face and make the eyes out of round wooden balls with an indentation cradling a Swarovski crystal for that special Santa glimmer.”
She finds old fur coats in thrift stores or receives them as donations from people she knows. “I’ve had people say I can have their coat if I send them a photo of the finished piece.”
Holt, 72, moved to Vero Beach 27 years ago from Annapolis and works out of her home studio, Wild Irish Grove Art and Design. With Christmas her favorite time of year, she previously made a living decorating people’s homes and trees for the holidays.
“I decided that it was time to retire, so I quit climbing ladders. But artists never ever retire. We just morph into another phase of artistry which usually involves giving.”
In addition to Riverside Theatre, Holt has donated her considerable talents to the Mental Health Association’s Turtle Trax campaign and to the Hibiscus Children’s Center.
She also enjoys painting vintage scenes from the early 1900s in acrylics on thin wood, explaining, “I love to recreate a simpler time in history, and since I get lost in the project, I forget about the stresses of life today.”
She claims to have come by her artistry naturally; her mother and grandmother were both artists.
“It’s a God-given talent, and giving back to the community is something I can do. I’m not in a position write a big fat check, but I can create something that will inspire someone else to write that check.”
One of the youngest FOT elves is 35-year-old Shannon Estes. A gingerbread house designer for the past 12 years, the Texas-born Estes has resided in Vero since she was 16, and learned the craft from her mother-in-law, Faye Estes, an 18-year festival designer.
“I fell in love with the idea and the process,” says Shannon Estes. “Every year I’d go and see Faye’s houses and she lovingly taught me how to make them. Now I’m teaching my sons how to do it, so it’s really a family affair.”
Estes begins baking in October, about six weeks prior to the festival. Everything is made from scratch using a special humidity-proof recipe that mixes honey, spices, cinnamon, nutmeg, flour and sugar with massive amounts of love and attention. The results are spectacular to say the least.
The gingerbread houses range in size from 12 inches to 20 inches and can be as architecturally elaborate as the baker desires, with everything from barns and churches to colonial houses. Estes cautions that while it may be tempting to nibble on a gum drop shingle or candy cane column, it’s best to just look and not eat as they are glazed to harden so they last the whole season.
“I love this town and it warms my heart to be able to give back,” says Estes. “I think that the Riverside Theatre children’s program gives children a voice and instills confidence. Even if they can’t afford to attend classes, they can get a 100 percent scholarship through Riverside’s education program. That experience can help them find themselves and give them direction for the rest of their life. Any little contribution toward that goal is so rewarding for me.”
The Riverside Theatre Festival of Trees begins with the Preview Gala the evening of Friday, Nov. 22, and continues with a full line-up of activities Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 23-24.
It is not too late to become a FOT designer; if you’re interested, contact Annamarie LaBella at 772-410-0470. For more information about Festival of Trees, visit riversidetheatre.com.