FARMINGTON – The Farmington Rotary Club’s seventh annual Festival of Trees will be held Saturday, Dec. 4, at the Granary Restaurant on Pleasant Street in conjunction with Chester Greenwood Day.

Sixteen 10-foot balsam fir trees, donated by Joanne and Walter Gooley, owners of Conifers Unlimited, will be decorated by area organizations and businesses and will be on display from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

A public reception with light refreshments and cash bar will be held at 5 p.m., and at 6 p.m., auctioneer Adrian Harris will auction off the trees as well as evergreen “kissing balls” and wreaths, a moose safari offered by Maine guide Roger Lambert, and a chair crafted by W. A. Mitchell Chairmakers of Temple. Absentee bids will also be accepted.

Harris, known for this entertaining auctioning skills, will be assisted by fellow auctioneer Roger Lambert.

“These trees are all uniquely decorated and people put a lot of time and money into their design,” said organizer Carolyn Eaton. The money raised is used to support dozens of community service projects during the year, she said.

There will also be a silent auction held all day in which written bids may be submitted for quality donated items, including the use of a chocolate fountain for a special occasion that was donated by Mountain View Chocolates. Tickets for the Rotary’s fund-raiser, $5,000 worth of travel from Farmington Travel, will be sold. Tickets are $10, and only 1,000 have been printed.

Participating organizations that will decorate trees include two new groups this year, Franklin County Homemakers Extension with “Christmas Around the World,” and the Industry Fire Department Auxiliary with “A Beary Christmas.”

Other decorating groups are the Farmington-Wilton Chamber of Commerce, Bangor Savings, the Emblem Club, Mountain View Chocolates, the Mountain Council of Realtors, Peoples Heritage, Pierce House, SAD 9 Volunteers, Wiles Funeral Home, Narrow Gauge Cinema, Crimson Bells, Tri-Valley United Way’s and Upcountry Artists.