Greg Wilson/Anderson Observer
One of the world’s most famous elves is reported to have visited Anderson recently.
“I came in one morning last week, and Buddy the Elf had crashed the clinic,” said Tammie Collins, executive director of The Anderson Free Clinic.
The explanation offered for this seasonal breach was that Santa had dispatched help for the clinic’s Festival of Trees. Collins appeared with Kevin Pickens, who also works with the clinic, to discuss the preparations. Buddy’s work was welcome, but they had a festival to organize.
Now in its fifth year, the Festival of Trees returns to Bleckley Station Nov. 18-21, with 35 tree designers, a new online auction, a holiday fashion show, a party and a visit from the Grinch. The decorations promise to be festive, but their purpose is practical: Every dollar raised by those trees will support the Anderson Free Clinic’s care for uninsured adults in Anderson County.
“We serve as their primary care home,” Collins said. The clinic also provides additional services, and uninsured adults in the county can apply for care.
For four days in November, the work of helping people obtain that care will involve persuading other people to consider a Christmas tree.
But before the public sees the finished display, there is the business of moving in.
Setup begins Nov. 15 and continues through Nov. 17. Designers arrive Nov. 16. The online tree auction goes live Nov. 17, before the festival opens to the public Nov. 18.
Collins promises a holiday wonderland.
“When you walk in the doors of the Bleckley Station, you will be transported to a winter wonderland,” she said. “It’s gorgeous.”
Daytime public viewing is free, giving visitors an opportunity to inspect the trees, develop preferences and perhaps reconsider whether their homes have room for just one more. Bidding will remain open through Saturday.
The trees can be delivered fully decorated and ready to display — an appealing arrangement for anyone who enjoys the result of holiday decorating more than the process.
The evening of Nov. 18 brings a girls’ night, followed by Thursday’s traditional luncheon which will add a new partnership with Dillard’s for a holiday fashion show, and in the evening organizers have planned a thank-you gathering for community partners.
The evening of Nov. 20 is the big party.
“We’ll get dressed up for Christmas,” Collins said.
The morning of Nov, 21 belongs to a guest whose reputation might suggest he would disapprove of the entire undertaking. The Grinch is coming for “Goodies with the Grinch,” and organizers are expecting about 300 people.
Between the public viewing and the individual events, the festival offers several ways to participate: come to look, come to celebrate, come to bid. And while the annual event is becoming a holiday tradition for the community, the focus remains on a holiday blessing for the clinic.
“All of the funds raised go to the work here of the clinic,” Collins said, “and treating folks here in Anderson County that don’t have insurance.”
Not every bidder needs another Christmas tree, and Collins has accounted for that.
Area nonprofits will help identify families they serve who would like a tree, and a supporter who already has enough decorations can purchase a tree for another household, and festival organizers will deliver it to the nonprofit to pass along to the family.
Someone can say, “I’ve got all the trees that I need, and still take part,” Collins said.
Buddy’s arrival does not eliminate the need for volunteers.
“Always, always need volunteers,” Collins said. “Many hands make light work.”
The clinic needs help during the Nov. 15-17 setup and as the festival gets underway. Prospective volunteers can message the Anderson Free Clinic on Facebook, complete the volunteer form on its website or call the clinic to ask how to help.
Support need not end when the trees leave Bleckley Station. Donations can be made through the donation tab at AndersonFreeClinic.org. The website also lists the mailing address for people who prefer to send a check.
Collins credits individuals, businesses, churches and donors who give monthly with sustaining the clinic’s work.
“I don’t know how we could do what we do without the support of those folks in our community,” she said. “We appreciate every dollar that comes in.”
The festival aims to put Anderson in a holiday mood, but Collins hopes it will also carry something forward into the less decorated months: the care made possible when a community finds a reason to give.
Some of that giving may end with a tree delivered to a living room. At the clinic, the work it supports will continue after the lights are put away.
