The town of Strong’s annual Festival of Trees and Treats drew more than 500 people to the Forster Memorial Building on Dec. 13 for a full day of holiday activities, raffles and community fundraising.
The event opened with a bake sale benefiting future free town activities, including Pierpole Days held throughout the year. Inside the hall, more than 20 decorated trees donated by local businesses, organizations and individuals were displayed for raffle, alongside tables offering new and gently used items available by donation to help brighten the holiday season for families.
The Strong Public Library participated with children’s and Christmas books for sale, while craft stations and letter-writing to Santa were available for children throughout the day.
A new addition this year was the festival’s first chili and chowder cook-off, which featured 13 entries. The people’s choice competition allowed attendees to purchase a $5 ballot to sample all entries, with additional fixings provided, and vote for their top three selections. Chowder emerged as the crowd favorite. First place went to Maria Johnson for her corn chowder, second place to Cody Billings for bacon corn chowder, and third place to Ann Logan Dunn for corn chowder.
In the afternoon, the stage programming shifted to a Grinch-themed event, where children gathered for a reading of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.” Cookies and hot cocoa were served, and the Grinch later made an appearance. Community caroling followed, with attendees joining together in the hall.
The evening portion moved outdoors as children watched for Santa Claus’ arrival down Main Street aboard Strong’s fire engine. Santa arrived at the town hall with Mrs. Claus, helped light the town tree, and then met with children to hear their wish lists.
The day concluded with drawings for the tree raffles and additional prizes donated by local businesses and individuals.
Organizers later announced the winners of the Festival of Trees raffles, which included themed trees donated by local groups such as the Strong Area Health Center, Faith Works Food Pantry, Girl Scouts Troop 531, and other businesses and organizations. Numerous additional raffle prizes were also awarded, ranging from gift cards and household items to handmade goods.
Event organizers thanked volunteers, donors and participants for their support and enthusiasm, noting plans to continue and build on the festival in future years.
We invite you to add your comments. We encourage a thoughtful exchange of ideas and information on this website. By joining the conversation, you are agreeing to our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is found on our FAQs. You can modify your screen name here.
Comments are managed by our staff during regular business hours Monday through Friday as well as limited hours on Saturday and Sunday. Comments held for moderation outside of those hours may take longer to approve.
Join the Conversation
Please sign into your Sun Journal account to participate in conversations below. If you do not have an account, you can register or subscribe. Questions? Please see our FAQs.