One rule of thumb for creating the perfect Christmas tree is that when you think you have enough ornaments, add about 20 percent more, Anton Engelmann says.
Engelmann knows his Christmas tree trimming. He is a floral designer for Elgin's Town & Country Gardens and for the past nine years has decorated trees for the Ecker Center's annual Festival of Trees.
(Marina Makropoulos/Staff Photographer)
This week, Engelmann was working on getting trees ready for the annual fundraising event, which brings in as much as $40,000 for the mental health center, said Laurie Bitter, one of the event organizers.
She also decorated several trees for this year's event, all of which are now on display at the Gail Borden Public Library, 270 N. Grove Ave., Elgin. The trees have been set up at the library for the past five years, but this is the first year that both the kick-off event and the gala auction capping off the event will be held there.
The festival officially kicks off at 5 p.m. Monday with an event open to the public. The trees will remain on display at the library for two weeks, and residents are invited to vote for their favorite trees and wreaths, all of which are auctioned off at the gala event and auction, set for 6 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 14. That is a ticketed event.
"Every year, something has been added to it," Bitter said of the auction night. This year, the event will include champagne, dinner, music by the Elgin Symphony Orchestra and raffles for everything from Cristal champagne to designer silk ties.
This year, the Festival of Trees also is partnering with 25 area businesses and nonprofit groups to promote Elgin Home for the Holidays.
"Last spring, we were talking with the Elgin symphony ... about collaborating," Bitter said, because both had events that either began or ended the holiday season. Now working as a joint marketing effort, each of the 25 partners has something to offer residents during the holiday season. More information on those events is available at www.elginhomefortheholidays.com.
For more information on the Festival of Trees, visit www.festoftreeselgin.org or call 847-695-0484, ext. 302.