Matthew Moore: As we are roasting away here in the hot August sun, thinking about winter holiday plans may be just what you need on this Friday. Mount Sequoyah Center's got you covered.
This November, they'll be hosting their annual Festival of Trees. Emily Gentry is the executive director of Mount Sequoyah. Jessica Debari is the organizational development officer. They came to the Carver Center for Public Radio last week. Jessica says the festival began in 2021 and was inspired by a similar festival based in Branson.
Jessica Debari: And just an interesting, different way to bring people together and celebrate the holidays and fundraise for the organization. And it's grown, which has been fun too. So we started in a smaller building. We had to grow it and move it to a different building, because we needed more space for decor, for events to be bigger, for auction items. And so that's been really fun to see the growth and just the steady, like consistent people are looking forward to it. It's holiday time, so it's always feel good and fun.
Matthew Moore: Does it feel strange to be thinking about Festival of Trees, you know, a time where it's autumnal, it's cooler. There's orange, there's yellows in the middle of August?
Jessica Debari: It feels a little strange in August, but I know we need the time to think it through and make sure we get all the details right and really have something for everybody at the festival. We are doing a little bit earlier this year than in previous years. So we're kind of focusing on that holiday preview timeline. People really do like to plan what decorations they're going to have, what new ideas they might be interested in in that November timeline.
Yeah, it's funny looking at marketing like on social media and things and yeah, this is the time of the oranges, the golds, back to school. And then we're like, it's red and green and white and winter wonderland and it's beautiful. But yeah, it's a fun little... it's very distinctive. It does stand out.
Matthew Moore: I will say, Festival goes throughout the second half of November. Can you give us a rundown of some of the events that are going to be scheduled for this?
Emily Gentry: Sure. So November 14 will be the kickoff. It's the Merry Mingle, and we'll have musicians there. It's going to be a low ticket price. We'll have food and drinks and really just want the community to come out, celebrate. It'll be a nice big party. And then November 15 is going to be our Snapshots with Santa event that's really focused on families. We usually have generations of families come for that event. There's crafts for the kids, there's snacks, and they get to take their picture with Santa.
Jessica Debari: Great for planning holiday cards.
Emily Gentry: Yeah. Early. Mid-November is great. You'll have your cards ready to go from that event and you get to take... it's $5 per person and you get to take the pictures, the digital copy, so you can put that in whatever you'd like it in any way. Perfect. Then on November 18, we're doing something new, which is going to be a holiday trivia night. So that'll be seated at tables, full-blown trivia session.
Jessica DeBari: I think we're still trying to keep it kind of casual, so not like formal. Think like pizza and beer, I think is the last one. We haven't finalized the menu yet, so don't quote me too much on that. But it'll be holiday themed, trying to mix it up so there's something for everyone. So it's not just, hey, you have to be a millennial to come and have any chance at getting the questions. We'll try to have something for every age. So I would say if you're putting together a team, recruit a wide range of people.
Matthew Moore: I love it.
Emily Gentry: Then on November 20, we'll have the Pinpoint Pop-Up. This has really become a beloved event that Bo Counts hosts with us. He'll preview some specialty cocktails for the holiday season at that event, and we will hopefully have some DJs there. It'll be a really fun cocktail night. And then the 21st will be the final night of the auction. So there will be a silent auction going on throughout the Festival of Trees, but the 21st will be the final night of that. And that will be a really beautiful affair.
Jessica DeBari: Yes. We'll have some live auction items too. I think we'll have a few. And yeah, that'll be the fancy, like get up, get dressed out, have a date night. Come and just soak up the holiday season. It's the 21st. It's before Thanksgiving, but not too close. So yeah, I'm excited for that one.
And then one more thing we have on the list.
Emily Gentry: On the 29th is the Wonderland Arts Market, and we have been doing that for several years now. That will be about 25 artists and vendors at the event. That'll be all day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and it's just a big opportunity to get all of your holiday shopping done locally with the very talented artists of northwest Arkansas.
Jessica DeBari: It's officially on Small Business Saturday so you can come out if you've got family in town. You're done with Thanksgiving meals. You're wanting to get out and do some things. It's a really fun, festive time. We'll have holiday hot chocolate and cider and stuff for people to sip while they shop. And yeah, it's a lot of fun. It's really cool seeing the unique wide range of artists that are there. I mean, you have everything from ceramics to painters to fiber artists. All kinds of stuff that they've got items for sale, and it's a lot of fun.
Matthew Moore: An element of this festival is also a fundraiser for the preservation of Mount Sequoyah Center. Tell me about that. Why is this an important time to fundraise for y'all?
Jessica DeBari: It's always an important time to fundraise. I would say the preservation aspect of what we're fundraising for, Mount Sequoyah is a historic campus. It's been around since 1922. We've got 50 buildings and structures, and it's a historic district as well. The buildings are aging. They're always in need of updating and repair. And so we want to be good stewards of the space, the site, the buildings, and we need people's help to be able to do that well.
The end of the year is always a big giving time for any nonprofit. Besides just supporting Festival of Trees, it's really important to be able to engage with all the nonprofits across the region. Look at supporting and giving. We always say do it throughout the year, but I think people are extra generous in giving during the end of the year. And so that's been a part of why we've done this Festival of Trees event. But it's not successful without people participating, coming out, coming to the events, spending money, giving donations.
Matthew Moore: You've also announced an honorary chair for the festival, Jennifer Irwin, who's with the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce. Why Jennifer?
Jessica DeBari: Oh, Jennifer is fantastic. First of all, she's stepping into a new-ish role. She's been there for nine months as the president and CEO for the chamber. And she's always had a good relationship with Mount Sequoyah. She's done Leadership Fayetteville for a long time before stepping into this new role, and she's still involved with that program. But she always keeps us on for History Day, for Quality of Life Day, just talking about how important Mount Sequoyah is to our community.
And so we just couldn't be more thrilled to have her as our honorary chair, because she understands how important Mount Sequoyah is to the fabric of our community. She cares, and she's just fantastic. She is so good at what she does. She's a connector. She wants people, businesses and places to excel. That's what we need. We need someone who's willing to help us make those connections. And she's the person to do it.
Matthew Moore: From two insiders here, what are some maybe lesser-known or lesser-obvious parts of Festival of Trees that people should get excited for? Maybe something that isn't a top-line thing, but secretly a thing that's really cool.
Emily Gentry: Well, I think people don't realize exactly how unique and exceptional the decor is going to be. People will come and think, oh yeah, it's Christmas trees. No, some of these Christmas trees are nothing like you've ever seen before. Like last year, Jason Jones made a custom Christmas tree that was also a monster. It was so cool. People might not know that, and they might not realize exactly how fun it is.
Jessica DeBari: Yeah, I think that's perfect because it is so fun. The events, like all these different events, you think, okay, I'm going to go up and see it once, but then you want to come back. "Oh, I wanted to go to the Merry Mingle opening." Well, I want to come back for the Pinpoint Pop-Up, because those drinks sound really good. "Oh, I want to come for Snapshots with Santa with my family."
So you experience these trees and the decor and just the atmosphere in a lot of different ways. It's just really fun and special. And we get so busy during the holiday time, so it's overwhelming. There are so many things to do. It's easy to get burnt out and overwhelmed with, "Well, I've got to do this holiday party. I've got to go here, be there, do this for work, do this for family."
And so I hope people just see this as an opportunity to do something kind of for themselves. Come out, just take a moment, sit in the beautifully decorated space and enjoy a cocktail or a mocktail or whatever it is, and just take some time for themselves to enjoy the season.
Matthew Moore: Emily Gentry is the executive director of Mount Sequoyah. Jessica Debari is the organizational development officer. They joined me last week in the Bruce and Anne Applegate News Studio 2.
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