Festival of Trees — Children's hospital charity event kicks off Wednesday

SANDY — Pop culture, sports pennants and pictures of beloved and now-missed family and friends are among the decorations adorning more than 800 trees — half of them full size — at the Festival of Trees. Some trees remember people who have died; others celebrate lives saved at Primary Children's Medical Center, which benefits from the annual charity event.

Proceeds from the festival, which runs Wednesday through Saturday, help pay for care at Primary for sick children whose families cannot afford it.

"Every penny," says Shauna Kerr, co-chairwoman, as she points out quilts and Nativity sets, wreaths and handmade aprons, gingerbread houses and artwork, literally thousands of items sold along with the trees.

One of the highlights this year is a painting by Eric Dowdle that features inside jokes and images from festivals past. He started the painting, which has an estimated value of $80,000, in October 2007. As he got caught up in the project, it kept getting bigger and more ornate. The framed 56-inch by 45-inch acrylic paint on art-quality masonite includes an Endure to the End tree in memory of his late sister-in-law, Terri Dowdle. A past festival chairwoman, Edyth Hansen, is pictured as a cheerful penguin. And there are trees annual attendees will recognize from the 2006 festival; he took pictures of some of his favorites and added them in.

It is a tribute, he says, to the festival and its volunteer staff. As he was planning it, he made sure he talked to loyal volunteers to include elements of the festivals that they love. Primary, he says, is special because when he was starting out and didn't have much money, his son was treated there.

The festival's trees range from the fanciful to the poignant, with a bit of everything imaginable in between. On one aisle, a striking wooden "tree" by artist and wood craftsman Paul Newman is actually a kinetic device down which wooden balls travel, to the delight of those who are watching. The tree is dedicated to his father, William Newman.

Not far away, there's a BYU-Utah rivalry tree provided by GSL Electric and the Crockett Family Foundation and decorated by the Great Salt Lake Council of Boy Scouts of America and Johanna and Toni Jensen. A couple of aisles over, a tree labeled "A Cullen Christmas" celebrates vampires and the Twilight book series. Donated by Infinite Jewelry, the card telling the tree's story notes that 25 local women who make up "Salt Lake Twilighters Anonymous" traveled to the books' setting in Washington and the winning bidder will get not only the tree, but an actual Forks High School sweatshirt, along with a signed copy of "The Host," provided by King's English.