Festival of Trees auction ready for record turnout

MOSES LAKE - Some board members are going to be standing at Habitat for Humanity of Greater Moses Lake's 13th Annual Festival of Trees Auction Saturday.

"We have squeezed every square inch of space," said President Curtis Robillard.

Approximately 240 people bought tickets to attend this year, filling the Big Bend Community College ATEC room to capacity, he said. They are sold out for tickets.

The auction is Habitat for Humanity's largest fund-raiser each year, Robillard said. Last year, organizers raised $45,000, nearly the cost to build a home.

Twelve decorated trees are going to be auctioned off, in addition to other items.

"In years' past, there have been people who have bought them for other people," Robillard said.

He recalled one memorable year, when a tree was delivered to children who lost their parents in a fire.

Live trees are purchased the Friday before the auction and decorated by volunteers. Most of the volunteers buy the materials for the trees, Robillard said.

One fake tree is auctioned off at the end, to be donated to Samaritan Healthcare. The tree is for children who are spending Christmas in the hospital.

"When they are in the hospital over Christmas, they can go to the tree and pick a toy off of it," Robillard said.

Everyone at the auction can contribute to the donation of the tree, which typically goes for $4,000 to $5,000, he said.

"Every year we get more cash donations, every year we've gotten more donations to auction off, and every year we get more people," he said.