ELY — Northwoods Partners just celebrated their tree lighting celebration at Grand Ely Lodge in Ely. This opens the 23rd year of the Festival of Trees, which is a fundraising event running through noon on Dec. 7. Included in the Festival of Trees are a silent auction, a raffle, a Christmas boutique, and a Memorial Tree.
The trees are the namesake and centerpieces of the two-week long event.
Individuals, families, businesses, and corporations donate a tree and fully decorate them before they go to the silent auction.
Displaying fantastic creativity, classic style, and artistry, the trees make an amazing gallery of one-of-a-kind opportunities, each going to the highest bidder. There’s one Christmas tree created entirely out of birch bark, and another tree is so softly white flocked with hand-made ornaments of fabric and other high-end materials that walking around the entire collection will definitely bring out the wonder of Christmas in you.
Northwoods Partners vision is to provide “a community where people are able to age with dignity.” They support clients and caregivers to help aging adults thrive and remain independent. Serving Ely, Babbitt, Tower, Soudan and surrounding areas, they rely on grants, private contributions, and fundraising to sustain their programs.
“Every year, we keep growing by leaps and bounds, both with clients and programs that we’re offering,” Northwoods Partners Executive Director Lisa Porthan said. “And so, this last year we moved into the Ely Area Community Hub, which has been a huge, great space for us, where we have two offices and a 900-square-foot program space. So that’s helped us grow our programming.”
More than 100 local individuals, families, businesses, and large corporations support Northwoods Partners. They don’t charge a fee for their services. These generous supporters and a team of more than 80 volunteers are able to provide a healthier community where people can age in place.