Christmas Tree Decorators Class on Tap for Saturday, Volunteers Needed

If you enjoy decorating for Christmas or have always wanted to enter a holiday tree-decorating contest, here is your chance. Dixon Kiwanis Club’s third annual ‘Festival of Trees’ still needs a few more volunteers to decorate small, medium, or large trees ‘sponsored’ by 30 different Solano businesses.

A Tree Decorator’s meeting is slated for this Saturday, Nov. 5, 9:30 – 10:30 a.m., at the office of the , 165 East A Street, across from the . Courtney Kett of the Dixon Florist will be providing ideas and instructions to participants.

Decorators are creative people who help increase the holiday magic by decorating trees that will be auctioned off at the annual Kiwanis Festival of Trees event, Dec. 3-5 at the . Decorators donate their time and the decorations only; pre-lit trees are provided. 

"It is a very exciting time to see the Vet's Hall go from zero to one hundred in just a few hours," said Kiwanis Club President Debra Dingman. "They will have only four hours to decorate their tree on site and it's just an amazing and fun experience the way so many volunteers pull together at once." The decorating will take place on Saturday, Dec. 3, 8 a.m. to noon. Registration forms are available and will need to be completed by participating volunteers.

Last year, the 'People's Choice Award,' an honor bestowed by voting visitors, was given to Pam Chesser on her tree sponsored by Grand Rental Junction decorated in a John Deere Tractor theme. The tree was purchased by Greg and Patti Coppes and put on display in the Dixon Veteran's Hall.

The serves as a major fundraiser by Dixon Kiwanis to benefit children. Last year, proceeds went to children served through the Dixon Community Education Foundation and the . The club’s efforts will also benefit Kiwanis Family House that serves families who have had their children admitted to the hospital via the UC Davis Emergency Room and have an unexpected overnight stay.

The Dixon Kiwanis has received valuable assistance from organizers of the Vacaville Festival of Trees which has been a huge community success for years. Anyone interested in ideas for the Dixon event can see the slide show of last year’s Vacaville Festival of Trees on the website: vacavillefestivaloftrees.com or look on the Dixon Kiwanis Club FaceBook page. One can decorate as an individual or as part of a team.

"We have 4-H teams, church groups, youth organizations, and groups of friends," said Dingman. "The trees turn out wildly creative and beautiful."

Interested parties will be given instructions on how to develop a theme although some businesses already have ‘built-in’ concepts such as a veterinary might be decorated with small dog or cat ornaments. How elaborate and how special each tree will turn out is unique to each decorating team.

For more information, call Marge Litsinger at (707) 678-9068 or Debra Dingman at (707) 678-9198 or email dixonkiwanis@hotmail.com more information.