Bid on trees today for the Family Place

This is the final day for the Festival of Trees, the largest fundraiser of the year for The Family Place. 

The decked-out, ready-for-presents trees are being auctioned live all day today on Facebook once again this year, rather than at an in-person event, which hasn't been held since 2019.

However, this year's event has been more of a hybrid, with the silent auction items back out on display along with the trees at Great Plains Ford. The Family Place staff and volunteers have also been able to visit with those coming down to view things in person, offering the Angel Tree ornaments and the Naughty or Nice 50/50 raffle.

“Absolutely, online definitely reaches a larger crowd,” noted Executive Director with The Family Place, Dawn Gutzke. “If people are away, out of town working, wherever you are, they're able to pick up their phone and help support the Festival of Trees and get their bids in. So it's been working really well.”

“We thought we'd try it for another year and see how it goes,” she added. “We'll definitely miss the in-person event, however, we've been open all week long here at Ford, and we've had so many people come through the doors, it's felt like a real great celebration for us. So, that part has been extremely nice to be back in action live here where people can come and view the trees, buy their 50/50 and just participate in the event.”

While the 106-item silent auction, filled with a variety of fabulous donated items, closed last night at 7:00, the trees will be on display until the Ford closes at 6:00 p.m. tonight.

After that, it's another two hours until the bidding closes on the live auction at 8:00 p.m. Find the link HERE.

“They're all beautiful. 25 amazing trees to bid on.”

Find a gallery of photos of the trees HERE.