Festival of Trees 2009 A fundraising event for Gualala Arts     Friday, November 27, 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Saturday, November 28, 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Gualala Arts' Sixth Annual Festival of Trees will be held Thanksgiving weekend, Friday, November 27 (10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.) and Saturday, November 28 (10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.), kicking off the Holiday Season on the Mendonoma Coast.

The entire Arts Center will be transformed into mid-19th Century Gualala. Highlights include festively decorated booths displaying handcrafted wares and demonstrations in both the Coleman Auditorium and the Burnett Gallery.

The Gualala Arts Interest Groups will again fill the Burnett Gallery with a wonderful display of crafts handmade by our own Pacific Piecemakers Quilt Guild, Fiber Arts Group, Woodcarvers and Woodworkers groups, Basket Makers and Beads n' Beyond.

In the Coleman Auditorium, visitors will discover several artists offering their beautiful crafts, including Joan Rhine Designs jewelry, Jennie Henderson's Fancy Fibers, Jan Maria Chiappa's Which Craft Workshop pottery, Shirley Egerlund of Caz Gal Soaps, Bill and Sue Halderman's Birdhouses, Patrick Allessandri's Regimental Colors toys, Barbara Tocher's candles, Momma Bird's "birdie breads" and Walt Rush Studio's jewelry.

Upstairs, the Magical Gingerbread House offers activities and crafts for children. The Magical Gingerbread House will be open from 11:00 a.m - 4:00 p.m. on Friday, and from 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. on Saturday. Throughout the Festival, visitors will enjoy live musical entertainment by the Recorder Consort group, the Sometime Singers and the Anchor Bay Children's Choir. Schedules for the entertainment will be posted at Gualala Arts Center before the Thanksgiving Holiday. And, there will be daily visits from Santa Claus, between 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.

Holiday cookies, breads, puddings, fruitcake and an assortment of confections will be available for sale at Mrs. Claus' Bake Shoppe & Confectionery.

Local bakers and candy makers donate goods from their favorite holiday recipes (many handed down through the generations) to this appetizing shop.

Festival-goers will be greeted in the foyer by the Old Gualala Mill Cookhouse serving fresh coffee cake in the morning, and hearty homemade vegetarian chili with hot cornbread, award-winning clam chowder with real sourdough or lunch, as well as fresh coffee, hot chocolate, chilled apple juice, and hot-spiced apple cider. For the adults, there will be the yummy winter beverage available, called "Scrumpy."

Refreshed, you may continue shopping for that perfect gift and take a closer look at the beautifully decorated Fantasy Forest. This year, there will be over twelve trees in the Forest, decorated with exquisite ornaments and available for sale by silent auction. These trees will be set-up in the Gualala Arts foyer by November 18th for preview.

There will also be a hand-made clay "Point Cabrillo Lighthouse" gingerbread house, a Mexican crèche and a collection of snow globes for sale, along with a tree and baskets filled with hand-made and vintage ornaments for sale. Around the Arts Center there will be additional trees decorated, old-fashioned Santas and pictures of Gualala from the mill-town days. Come relax and enjoy the Festival of Trees!

Festival of Trees
is sponsored by:

Past Events
Festival of Trees 2008
Festival of Trees 2007

The Gualala Arts Center, located at 46501 Old State Highway in Gualala, CA,
is open weekdays 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and weekends from noon to 4:00 p.m.
Please call (707) 884-1138 for more information, or email info@gualalaarts.org.

Serving the coastal communities of northern Sonoma & southern Mendocino Counties.