Festival of Trees & Victorian Christmas

So yeah...I'm playing catch-up here at Pineapple Ponderings over the next few days. Allow me to take you back about two months to the weekend of December 8th when Chris and I went to the Festival of Trees at the Central PA Institute of Science and Technology and Victorian Christmas in Bellefonte.

This year was the first that we've attended the Festival of Trees. It had previously been held at the Ag Arena on Penn State's campus, but we were usually hunting that weekend. This year we were free and the event had been moved to CPI and was being held in conjunction with Victorian Christmas in Bellefonte. Aside from knowing that the trees at the festival were sponsored and decorated by area businesses and organizations, I didn't know what to expect. I know the Festival of Trees in Baltimore is a really big deal (and it's priced accordingly at $13/person). For $2/person, I wasn't expecting too much from the Centre County Festival of Trees, but I was willing to part with $4 to check it out.

Centre County Library's tree

Angel made from a book.

Brookline (Senior Center)'s tree...

...complete with ties as the tree skirt.

A handbell choir provided musical entertainment.

Centre County PAWS' tree

I thought this was a cute idea for a Christmas tree skirt.

Matternville School's tree

Cute idea for a kids' Christmas craft!

State College Orthodontics' tree

Mid-Penn Legal Services' tree

Health South Nittany Valley Rehabilitation Hospital's tree

Nittany Piano Teachers Network's tree

The Village at Penn State's tree

Mortenson Construction's tree

The Bellefonte Playschool's tree

Loved this elephant ornament made from ribbon...

...had to flip it over to see how it was made. Might try a few of my own!

Very small train display.

All in all, the Festival of Trees was OK. The admission fees went to the Centre County United Way, so it was $4 well spent. There were several very nicely decorated trees (Piano Teachers Network, PAWS) and I got a few ideas to share with Casie for kid crafts at her job.

Following the Festival of Trees, we rode into Bellefonte to check out the Victorian Christmas celebration. Again, we've never really been around for this event in the nine years we've been here. We were always hunting the same weekend Victorian Christmas was held. We found a great parking spot on the street and set out for a walkabout in Bellefonte.

The Reynolds Museum hosted a Victorian High Tea Party.

I WILL make it to that tea party one of these years! Who's with me?

The homes in downtown Bellefonte were nicely decorated.

The Bellefonte Museum hosted a children's tea party.

The Bellefonte Art Museum hosted a model train display.

The ducks of Talleyrand Park.

We used a couple of quarters to feed the ducks...

...and the fish!

Bellefonte is home to five of PA's governors.

HELLO!

Horse drawn carriage rides around town were offered. 

Santa's Cottage was located in front of the courthouse.

We concluded our day in Bellefonte with a late lunch at Cafe on the Park which, if you're local and haven't been there yet, you should check it out. It's a neat little homey place with tasty food and great service. Having now seen most, but not all, of Victorian Bellefonte, I definitely want to go back again this year and experience more of the events...especially the high tea at the Reynolds Mansion.