A display of many individually decorated Christmas trees is coming to Geelong to highlight stories of compassion and generosity within the community.
St. Paul’s Anglican Church’s 171-175 Latrobe Terrace Hall will host a Christmas Tree Festival on Friday, November 29, from 6pm to 9pm and Saturday, November 30, from 10am to 3pm.
Treasurer Ruth Oakley said the trees were decorated by charities, community groups and not-for-profits, giving them a chance to showcase their positive work.
“We’re trying to offer the space to share gifts of compassion, generosity, love and friendship, which we believe is part of the Christmas message,” she said.
“This is the third time we’ve held this event, and I’m happy to say it’s grown each year. We have 16 to 18 trees, which will pretty much fill our church hall to some extent.
“There are children’s craft activities right throughout the event, like making gifts and decorations, and they can dress up as angels or shepherds and have their photos taken if they want to.”
The North Children’s Choir will perform a concert during the Friday event, with more live music on Saturday.
Ms Oakley said that a gold cold donation was asked of adults and that it was free for children to enter the event, with everyone welcome regardless of religion.
She also said the event wasn’t intended as a fundraiser but as an opportunity for the Geelong community to celebrate the spirit of Christmas.
“The whole reason for doing this is we want to share some of the amazing works of compassion, support and generosity that are happening in the Geelong community,” she said.
