Mark your calendar for these holiday happenings

Jennifer Jensen of Bountiful has been working on her project for this year's Festival of Trees since August. She can't put a finger on how much time she's spent. "I've worked on it at least an hour a day, if not more. Some days I've spent the entire day working on it," she said in a phone interview from her home.

Her "project" is an entire scene based on a story she created called "As the Scribe Slept." It's an elaborate display that includes small figures and storybook panels as well as handmade ornaments for the Christmas tree. The scene will be sold as an ensemble.

Jensen's diorama will be featured in an area at the South Towne Expo Center, where the festival is held, that will be reminiscent of the downtown ZCMI window decorations, which were a staple of Salt Lake's holiday season for years.

This will be Jensen's third project for the festival. "I do one and take a year off and then do another one," she said.

She participates in part because it's a creative outlet for her. "I enjoy the creative aspect of it and it's a very worthy cause," she said.

The Festival of Trees benefits Primary Children's Medical Center.

She became aware of Primary Children's when a cousin, Jenny, spent weeks there with an unknown condition that caused seizures and fevers. "They tried to help her and tried to diagnose her condition," Jensen said. "The doctors at Primary Children's always stayed positive and hopeful."

Although the condition was never diagnosed (doctors concluded it was a condition unique to Jenny), Jenny lives a full life, Jensen said. "We adore her."

Jenny's father, John White Jr., is sponsoring Jensen's storybook scene.

This year, the downtown Meier & Frank store commissioned special window displays that will be sold to businesses, with the proceeds being donated to the Festival of Trees. The displays will be unveiled Nov. 25 at 5 p.m. and remain in the Meier & Frank windows through the holidays with the names of the businesses that purchased them.

"We felt so strongly about the Festival of Trees being such a good organization ... that we wanted to be part of it," said Donald E. Dalton, manager of the downtown Meier & Frank. "This is a great way to support downtown Salt Lake as well as the Festival of Trees."

Wasatch Front and Wasatch Back

» Festival of Trees

What: Primary Children's Medical Center benefit

Where: South Towne Expo Center, 9575 S. State

When: Nov. 30-Dec. 3; 10 a.m.-10 p.m.