{"id":37029,"date":"2022-11-29T22:45:49","date_gmt":"2022-11-30T05:45:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/festival-of-trees-wreaths-display-dazzles-visitors-at-durango-railroad-museum\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T02:35:23","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T08:35:23","slug":"festival-of-trees-wreaths-display-dazzles-visitors-at-durango-railroad-museum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/festival-of-trees-wreaths-display-dazzles-visitors-at-durango-railroad-museum\/","title":{"rendered":"Festival of Trees & Wreaths display dazzles visitors at Durango Railroad Museum"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"The
The 19th Annual Festival of Trees & Wreaths fundraiser is on display at the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

An enchanted forest of Christmas trees decked in decorations and trimmed with lights awaits discovery amid the hills and dales of the Durango Railroad Museum. \u201cOohs\u201d and \u201caws\u201d from wide-eyed children echoed through the forested lane with its thicket of festive wreaths that tickled the fancy of a few adults.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe liked the liquor wreath,\u201d said Madeleine Beiser of Durango, who was joined in laughter by friend Maria Russomanno of Tucson, Arizona. \u201cThis is the first one I\u2019ve been to and it\u2019s pretty creative in terms of themes and what people have come up with. I like it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

For more info<\/h4>\n

To learn more about the Festival of Trees & Wreaths in Durango, the Festival of Wreaths in Cortez and Montezuma County, or the people who helped complete the projects, contact Community Connections at 259-2464 or visit www.communityconnectionsco.org. To visit the auction site, go to Trees22. GiveSmart.com or scan the QR code accompanying a tree or wreath at the festivals.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The 19th Annual Festival of Trees & Wreaths is a fundraiser via online auction for Community Connections, which works to support, advocate for and transform the lives of people with disabilities in Southwest Colorado.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love it,\u201d Russomanno added. \u201cIt\u2019s so creative. I haven\u2019t seen them all yet but I really like the game tree. I\u2019m always looking for fun games and this is really cool. And something you always do with the family at Christmas is games.\u201d<\/p>\n

The liquor wreath boasted an impressive number of airline-sized bottles of hooch, while the game tree was festooned with playing cards and skirted with family favorites like Rummikub, Skip-Bo, Uno and a giant-diced version of Yahtzee.<\/p>\n

Thirty trees, 12 wreaths and 2 wooden-built trees laden with decorations and goodies, in an assortment of themes, is on display at the Silverton & Durango Narrow Gauge Museum. An online auction will take place Friday through Sunday. The trees and wreaths are decorated by families and businesses and then donated to raise money. Last year\u2019s auction raised a record-breaking $62,000.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are hopeful that we are going to end up someplace in that same range this year, perhaps a bit more,\u201d said Lisa Branner, vice president of marketing and development at Community Connections. Branner believes the amount raised last year was a reflection of \u201cgetting back to the in-person element where people could peruse the trees,\u201d as opposed to the virtual tour imposed during the pandemic.<\/p>\n

\"A
A wreath created by San Juan Angler hangs with all kinds of fly fishing goodies in the 19th Annual Festival of Trees & Wreaths fundraiser on Tuesday at the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Another reason for the increase in fundraising last year was the sister-event in Cortez and Montezuma County called the Festival of Wreaths.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that was a big factor in the success last year because we had 46 wreaths in downtown Cortez and other Montezuma County communities and they grew exponentially.\u201d<\/p>\n

This year marks the 3rd Annual Festival of Wreaths, which boasts 47 wreaths, growing from 12 the first year to 46 the second. The wreathes are part of a scavenger hunt where people can search them out in different businesses then write down a code and enter to win prizes including a thousand dollars in cash cards good at businesses in Cortez. The wreaths will also be auctioned online Friday through Sunday.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe best part of this whole event is everybody\u2019s creativity and coming up with a theme, and how they are decorating their tree or wreath,\u201d Branner said. \u201cIt\u2019s super fun and different every year.\u201d<\/p>\n

She can only guess at the amount of time businesses and families have invested in decorating the trees and wreaths.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt varies widely,\u201d she said. \u201cYou\u2019ll note that some of them are much more elaborate and that people spend a lot of time thinking about their theme and trying to gather the right things for it, and in the instance of Studs Lumber, one of the ones that actually built a tree this year, I can\u2019t imagine how many hours went into that. I\u2019m sure it was an enormous amount of time and effort.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam Hirshberg, general manager at Studs Lumber, confirmed Branner\u2019s suspicions. The tree, built of locally-sourced wood fiber, took the company\u2019s lead driver 10 to 12 hours to build. While the mostly handmade decorations took the company\u2019s operation manager and her family another 20-plus hours to make.<\/p>\n

\"The
The 19th Annual Festival of Trees & Wreaths fundraiser is on display at the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cOur employees enjoy giving back so for us it was a good way to give back and get some creative juices flowing within the workplace and think outside the box for a minute,\u201d Hirshberg said. \u201cThat\u2019s why we like the Festival of Trees because we get to make something that\u2019s unique.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey go over and above every year,\u201d Branner said when she learned of the time Studs invested.<\/p>\n

Winning bidders don\u2019t actually keep the artificial trees, they keep all the decorations and goods adorning the trees along with a gift, except in the case of the built trees like Studs, which they do get to keep. Bidders also keep the wreaths.<\/p>\n

Community Connections helped 916 people in five counties last year.<\/p>\n

The D&SNG Museum is free and open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays. It is located at the Train Station at 479 Main Ave.<\/p>\n

gjaros@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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