You Have to See This Astonishing $13,000 Idaho Christmas Tree

Over Thanksgiving weekend, the Ford Idaho Sports Center became a sparkling wonderland filled with 34 unique trees during the Canyon County Festival of Trees. 

That’s right. The Treasure Valley is lucky enough to have two incredible Festival of Trees events. There are actually people who didn’t know there was one in Nampa, too! The Canyon County Festival of Trees has been around since 1994 and benefits the Nampa and Caldwell Meals on Wheels programs. The program delivers nutritious, low-cost meals to seniors who may not be able to cook for themselves, are homebound or have mobility issues. 

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Last year, the funding agency for the Caldwell program said they were out of funds for weekend meals and the Board of Directors stepped up to provide those meals out of pocket because they couldn’t let their seniors down. Knowing how great the need was lit a fire under the festival organizers. In 2022, they were able to give both Nampa and Caldwell Meals on Wheels programs the biggest donation in the event’s history - $75,000 a piece! 

We’re still waiting on the official totals from this year’s event, but organizers feel like the number may be big enough to get funds to programs in outlying communities in Canyon County in addition to Nampa and Caldwell! Not only do the seniors look forward to getting their meals, but they also look forward to visiting with the volunteers who drop them off. Being homebound can be incredibly isolating, so those relationships are really special, so any time the festival can foster more of those interactions they want to! 

So where does the money come from? Festival admission, sponsorships, Breakfast with Santa tickets and the money raised through the festival’s first-ever Bingo night play a big part in the final total but the largest chunk of funds comes from the money raised during the gala live auction! 

16 of the trees went to auction this year and one of them sold for $13,000! Who decorated it? What came with it? Take a look at this year’s beautiful trees to find out.