The Grande Prairie Regional Hospital Foundation announced today (Sept. 22) that the annual Festival of Trees will be going ahead, with a modified eight-day event. 

Spreading the usually three-day event to eight days will keep the number of visitors at any given time to a minimum while maximizing the number of people who can attend. 

“Maintaining the safety of our attendees, volunteers, sponsors and staff is our top priority. Guests will have to prepurchase their time slot to attend the Festival of Trees this year. This will allow for a limited number of guests in the building and make it easier to adhere to Physical Distancing guidelines,” stated Executive Director Keith Curtis. 

“While we may have modifications to accommodate safety this year, we know keeping the Festival tradition of launching the Holiday Season is as important to our community as it is to the Foundation.” continued Curtis. 

“We have created new ways for our supporters to attend the Festival virtually, not just our events like Mistletoe Mixer and Teddy Bear Breakfast, but with the purchase of Foundation VR goggles, people can have a fully emersed Festival tour all from the comfort of their home! The best part is the goggles will only be $10.”  

An enhanced virtual tour of the Festival will also be available online for those who cannot visit in person or for those who just want to see it again. 

The new Foundation VR goggles (Courtesy GP Regional Hospital Foundation)

Using the Foundation VR goggles with a mobile phone or iPod will give people a 360 degree fully emersed Festival Tour. The goggles can also be used with Google Expeditions to tour other locations around the world.  

Creations, Trees, Gingerbread Houses, Mini Trees, Art and more will still be on display at the Festival, but they’ll also be available for bidding on a new Festival of Trees auction site.

Some of the crafts and shop items will be available online for curbside pickup. The Kids only Secret Shop, Candy Shop and Teddy Bear Hospital will still be open.  

A new feature has been added this year, “The Elves Playground”. The Christmas Pajama Party is being replaced with “Gaming for Good”, an online gaming event presented with the Alberta Esports Association. 

There will be virtual events for the Teddy Bear Breakfast, Holiday Business Luncheon, the Mistletoe Mixer and the Gala. 

For more information about the Festival, visit www.festivaloftreesgp.ca. 

A demonstration of the new goggles is available HERE.