The top of the short wall in front of Magye Loya’s desk has some additional bling this week. “In the Key of Christmas,” a decorated tree entered in the annual Festival of Trees competition, won two awards at a gala on Friday, Nov. 20, at Houston Street Ballroom. The tree, designed and decorated by Meadowlark Hills employees Kristin Bribiesca, Becky Fitzgerald, Mary Harness, Magye Loya and Kinzie Jo Zimmerman, earned the Festival Favorite and People’s Choice awards. 

Festival of Trees is a five-day event benefitting Flint Hills Volunteer Center. Local and area businesses and community members donate decorated Christmas trees, front porch displays, entryway displays and mantel displays to be auctioned off at the gala. The money raised from the auction goes directly to fund the center’s programs.

2015 marks the eighth year Meadowlark Hills staff members have donated a decorated tree, with each of our trees winning at least one award since 2011. Festival Favorite is this year’s top prize as determined by a judging panel; the People’s Choice award is determined by votes from festival-goers. 

The high bidder for the In the Key of Christmas tree was Penny Alonso, vice president for mortgage lending at KS State Bank, and a good friend of Becky’s. “It’s just stunning,” Alonso said when she saw the tree. A fan of music and fine arts, Alonso was taken with the theme and the tree’s colors of cream, bronze and gold. 

For the past few years, the tree committee designed trees with an interactive component, and this year was no different. Twelve ornaments were carefully chosen to represent 12 beloved Christmas carols or songs, such as “Silver Bells” and “O Little Town of Bethlehem.” Each ornament was numbered, and festival-goers were invited to find the numbered ornament which corresponded to the song or carol listed on a playing card.

About 70 people participated, and 44 correctly completed their playing cards. A card was drawn from the correct entries, with Leola Smith of Manhattan winning the contest. Her prize? Two tickets to the Canadian Brass holiday concert on Dec. 1 at McCain Auditorium. Meadowlark Hills is a sponsor of that show, and McCain staff generously donated the tickets. 

The committee invites you to stop by the “trophy wall” in the Community Center to see the new awards.