PARIS — The Oxford Hills Chamber of Commerce will host its annual Festival of Trees and Christmas Parade on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 25-27.

Jennifer Boenig of the Oxford Hills Chamber of Commerce said the Christmas Parade is nearing its 40th year, while the Festival of Trees is entering its sixth year.

The Festival of Trees will be held from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Friday at Twin Town Plaza, 243 Main St., Paris. It will also be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday.

The chamber is closing in on 35 businesses, organizations, groups or individuals who are purchasing artificial Christmas trees and decorating them to raffle off this weekend, Boenig said.

“Normally, we average around 30 trees a year,” she said. “Sometimes it’s a few lower, sometimes it’s a few higher. We’re doing good this year.”

She said the new venue, the old Family Dollar building, is “a big plus for us.”

“We have the ability to open the space up a week before the Festival of Trees begins and let folks come in, set up their trees, and decorate them,” Boenig said. “At the old venue, we weren’t able to get in there until the day before we held the festival.”

Admission is free for residents throughout the weekend. Raffle tickets cost $1 for one ticket, $5 for six tickets, $10 for 15 tickets, and $20 for 35 tickets.

Twenty percent of proceeds will go to local charities, Boenig said.

Last year, the Chamber of Commerce donated to Rightstart Inc., and gave $500 each to the Oxford Hills Food Pantry in Norway, the food pantry at Guy E. Rowe School, and the Helping Hands Food Pantry in Oxford.

Raffle winners will be decided on Sunday, and they can pick up their trees between noon and 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 28.

The Christmas Parade is scheduled for 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday.

Boenig said this year’s theme is The Sounds of Christmas, and that normally “anywhere between 40 and 50 businesses are represented in the parade, in some manner.”

“Right now, we have all of our usual suspects, such as the Norway Savings Bank, Paris Farmers Union, Wal-Mart, and Stephens Memorial Hospital,” Boenig said. “We always have some folks that come and go, depending on the year.”

The parade will begin in front of Ari’s Pizza on Main Street in Norway, and continue to Market Square in Paris. It will be made up of many businesses and organizations, some of which created floats ahead of time that will be judged by a panel of locals, Boenig said.

The judges include Recreation Director Deb Partridge, Judy Green of Crazy Horse Racing, and Lt. Christine Yates of the Norway Fire Department.

The Progress Center and Community Kitchen in Norway will be open on Saturday morning, offering a place for residents to warm up and get hot chocolate and cookies before the parade begins.

Partridge will also have stops along Main Street where some businesses will be giving away cookies and hot chocolate.

Every year, the parade route through Norway and Paris is “packed,” Boenig said.

“The police chiefs in Norway and Paris estimated that somewhere between 3,000 and 5,000 people have been watching the parade as of late,” she said. “It’s pretty amazing.”

For more information on the Festival of Trees or the Christmas Parade, call Boenig at 207-743-2281 or email jennifer@oxfordhillsmaine.com.

mdaigle@sunmediagroup.net

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