BELLA VISTA — This year’s Festival of Trees will take on a new look, primarily that of an event held indoors for the first time in the five years of the event’s history.

The celebration is scheduled for Dec. 3 at Cooper Elementary School.

In years past, live trees all over the city were adopted by different groups and decorated for the holidays. Special commemorations were then held for each one.

But because those gatherings were held in December, cold weather discouraged many from attending.

This year, Sylvia Camacho-Green, who oversees the Bella Vista Property Owners Association’s Community Outreach Program, said they are taking it all indoors and making it more accessible to everybody.

Camacho-Green and a committee of volunteers have been organizing the holiday event for several weeks now. Among those on the committee are representatives of the Cooper Elementary School Parent-Teacher Organization.

Because of this year’s event being held at the school, there will be no PTO-sponsored Breakfastwith Santa. However, the jolly elf will be at the school during the fivehour festival, posing with children for photos.

There also will be holiday music performed by the Bentonville and Gravette high school bands, a silent auction for two-foot Christmas trees decorated by the different classes at the school, a gingerbread house contest, free food and baked goods, and more than four dozen vendors selling holiday gifts and goodies. And the folks from the Bella Vista Animal Shelter will be on hand with some of their adoptable residents.

Those activities will occur in the school’s foyer and cafeteria.

Vendors can keep whatever money they make. Proceeds from the silent auction and gingerbread house contest will go to the school’s outdoor classroom project, where an area outside of the facility is being converted into a learning environment.

The PTO will have a table where it will be selling items to raise money for the classroom project.

Members of Northwest Community Church will show holiday films in the school’s gymnasium.

Vendors can rent tables for $75 for businesses and $50 for nonprofits. Thelatter can save that cash if they make an in-kind donation of needed items, such as hot dogs, hot dog buns, etc. The fees are nonrefundable.

A limited number of tables are being reserved for the Bella Vista Business Association. Any not rented by Oct. 27 will be available to any business, whether or not they are in the association.

“We are trying tokeep it economy friendly and an opportunity for families to come out and shop,” Camacho-Green said of the festival.

An artificial tree in the school’s foyer will be lit at 6 p.m.

Camacho-Green said they are planning for as many as 1,000 visitors.

She said the trees that have been used for this festival are still available for adoption bygroups, but there will be no organized celebration to go with them. There are 14 of them located at the Metfield Pavilion, the Highlands gate, Loch Lomond Park and several other places.

This year, some of the trees were victims of spring floods and summer droughts, so there may not be as many, but the festival will go on with the survivors.

The various groups that decorate trees are welcome to have their own lighting ceremony, Camacho-Green said.

Information about the festival has been posted on the POA website at www.bellavistapoa.com, under Community Outreach.

To reserve a tree, call Camacho-Green at 855-5019 or email her at [email protected].

Area, Pages 28 on 09/28/2011