Danielle Server
To kick off the 27th Annual Happy Holidays Laramie Festival of Trees, the Laramie community and university students are invited to come view Christmas trees designed by businesses and organizations from around the Laramie and UW community with a Fantastical Christmas theme.
The University of Wyoming Art Museum will be holding a special holiday event called the Lighting of the Trees this evening from 6 to 8 p.m.
“In recent years, we have tried to give [a] theme to encourage a little bit of creativity for those who are choosing to decorate Christmas trees,” said Katie Christensen, curator of Education and Statewide Engagement for the Art Museum. “One of the exhibitions right now is reevolution which is really fantastical animal taxidermy. So we tried to give people a theme that wasn’t too narrow, but [enough] to give some type of inspiration.”
At the end of the evening, one tree will be given the People’s Choice Award, but there will also be a runner up and staff pick selection.
During the event, performances will be given by the Laramie String Academy, the Laramie High School Jazz Acappella Choir and the Presbytarian Bell Choir. The performances are a way for the Art Museum to display and celebrate the arts from around the community and schools. There will be more performances given Sat. during the Holiday extravaganza along with free activities and a Santa Clause visit.
“It is our way of celebrating the teachers and students and the hard work that goes into the arts in Laramie,” said Christensen. “We get probably close to five hundred people in the three days that come in to visit the art museum, so it’s a pretty popular event in the community.”
A silent auction of these trees will start today and will end Sat. The silent auction is open to anyone who attends the festival and can bid on the trees throughout the weekend and the trees will go to the highest bidder after 2:45 p.m. Sat.
“Sometimes, people will purchase them and donate them to local places around the community as a way to give back to their community,” said Christensen.
The purpose of this silent auction is to raise money to benefit the Art Museum’s educational programs and community outreach.
“We do a lot of educational programs that support all ages, Christensen said. “We have everything from early childhood, K-12, College, and older adult programs. It supports the teachers and art supplies for these programs as well as the family days.”
