PROVO — Last year, the Dollhouse Festival raised $47,000 for the Children's Justice Center in Provo — money that goes directly toward helping abused children get back their self-confidence and their sense of well-being.

In the year between July 2006 and July 2007, that's 3,530 children who have either been endangered or harmed by a caretaker.

Ruth Brasher feels strongly that every effort should be made to help them recover. That's why she's busy year-round recruiting people to build and/or furnish dollhouses that can be sold at the annual festival. "It's just so important. They need to always have funds for the provision of therapy," she said.

"Because we're all volunteers, every penny goes to the Children's Justice Center," said Brasher as she helped make Christmas wreaths from hair curlers for the Santa House she and co-chairwoman Trisha Stoddard are building. "We have a sponsor who pays for our expenses so everything can go to the center."

This is the 8th year for the festival, which started with just a handful of houses on display and for sale at the Utah County Historic Courthouse, then at the Marriott Center and last year at the Tahitian Noni International Center. This year, the festival is at the Springville Art Museum in the south end of the county.

"Next year, we anticipate being in the Midtown Village in Orem," said Brasher.

The festival will include 20-25 donated dollhouses and the furnishings along with boutique items for sale. There is also a dinner along with a silent and open auction event.

One is a dollhouse built on a turnstile by Fred Lewis with each room decorated by Colleen Peterson in Disney characters to fit a Disney movie theme: "Winnie the Pooh, "Beauty and the Beast," "101 Dalmations," "The Little Mermaid," "Jungle Book," and "Peter Pan."

Another is a boy's firehouse complete with a working firetruck.

Stoddard and Brasher's house has Santa putting toys together in his workshop and Mrs. Santa baking in her kitchen. There's a little brass bed in the bedroom and a player piano in the parlor. There's lace bunting on the windows. Everything is red and green.

"We've been doing this for a couple of years now so we've kind of learned what to do," said Stoddard. "We're kind of the clean-up hitter. If someone builds a house and doesn't want to decorate it, we do that. If someone gives us a kit, we put it together."

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If you go . . .

What: Dollhouse Festival
Where: Springville Museum of Art, 126 E. 400 South, Springville
When: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Oct. 12; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Oct. 13
Cost: admission is free, donations appreciated
Phone: 374-9842/418-7745

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E-mail: haddoc@desnews.com