Festival of Trees returns to LOVE Park

(Photo courtesy Festival of Trees)

Philadelphia’s most popular new holiday tradition is back! Festival of Trees will once again take over LOVE Park’s Welcome Center (1569 John F. Kennedy Blvd.) from December 5 to December 24, with a ribbon cutting open to the public on December 4 at 5:00 p.m.

For the Festival’s second year, the event returns even bigger with more trees, more bling, new designs, and an opportunity to send messages of hope to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) patients through a special augmented reality experience.

The stunning collection of Christmas trees will be designed by local artists, designers, and creative masterminds such as Tonya Mason from Mason Made, Madison Gosselin from Goss Paints, Sami Riccioli, Alyse & Alexis Scaffidi from bite-sized designs, and Detra Boyd, who designed last year’s winning tree. Each twinkling tree will feature the glow of holiday lights, along with everything from original art pieces, themed ornaments, whimsical keepsakes, show-stopping stars and toppers, and much more.

Admission to the Festival of Trees is complimentary and open to the public. Visitors are asked to vote for their favorite design via a snowflake token that can be dropped into a ballot box in front of their favorite tree. By voting, they are supporting the 2024 charity partner, CHOP, and 100% of all proceeds from the voting process will support the hospital’s Children’s Fund.

Festivities will also include photos with Santa every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday inside the festival, with additional Santa appearances on December 23 and 24. Festival of Trees hours are Sunday to Thursday, from 12:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., and Friday and Saturday, from 12:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. For more information, visit www. philachristmas.com/festival-of-trees and follow @philafestivaloftrees. For more about CHOP, visit: www.chop.edu and follow @childrensphila.

“We are thrilled to bring the Festival of Trees back to Philadelphia after last year’s huge success,” said Thomas Bauer, Village in Philadelphia CEO and president. “This important fundraiser for CHOP quickly became one of the runaway hits of the holiday season in 2023. It is back by popular demand in Love Park. It is an amazing activity for the whole family, and we invite everyone to come and support CHOP and their children’s fund to help close the gap between resources and breakthroughs for patients who need it most.”

“Whether it is to ease the financial burden on patient families, fast track a research discovery or provide healthcare resources to members of the community, we are honored to be the beneficiary of the Festival of Trees at Christmas Village in Philadelphia for the second year,” said Dana Raftas, associate vice president of institutional and events fundraising, CHOP. “This funding will fuel critical work to improve the lives of children in our care today, tomorrow, and in the future.”

Festival of Trees will pop-up again in the renovated LOVE Park Welcome Center. For the second year, the event aims to host 20 trees, even more than in 2023.

For themes, the sky’s the limit.

“The more festive, the more out-of-the-box, the better,” Bauer said.

For the second season, look for trees this year sponsored by the biggest names in Philadelphia, including Philadelphia Eagles, Philadelphia Insurance Companies, Philadelphia Zoo with its LumiNature Lightshow, CHUBB, Westpharma, Bank of America, Dietz & Watson, Louis P. Canuso, Amoroso’s Baking Company, Burlington Automotive, Fashion District Philadelphia, Wawa, RE/MAX, Jawnaments, GIANT, NRG and Citadel Credit Union.

All event sponsors and designers will help join in the goal of giving back and bringing Christmas magic to the hundreds of thousands of visitors coming through LOVE Park during the holiday season.

Admission to the Festival of Trees is complimentary and open to the public. Visitors are asked to vote for their favorite design via a snowflake token that can be dropped into a ballot box in front of their favorite tree. By voting, they are supporting the 2024 charity partner CHOP, and one hundred percent of all proceeds from the voting process will support the hospital’s Children’s Fund, which provides assistance where the need is greatest, touching every area of the hospital. As an extra treat, all who donate over $10 will get a complimentary hot chocolate at Christmas Village in Philadelphia! This year, awards will be given for People’s Choice as well as new categories of Media/Influencer’s Choice and Judge’s Choice.

The Festival of Trees joins Christmas Village in Philadelphia, Christmas Village Carousel, Christmas Village Ferris Wheel, Made in Philadelphia Holiday Market, City Hall Christmas Tree, Rothman Ice Rink, Rothman Cabin, Winter Garden at Dilworth Park, and many other events and attractions that will turn Center City into one of the most extravagant and largest holiday districts in the United States.