Tickets on sale for Memorial's Festival of Trees Gala

[October 19, 2013]  SPRINGFIELD -- Memorial's Festival of Trees Gala, an elegant preview fundraiser scheduled before the Festival of Trees opens to the public, will be on Nov. 16 at 7 p.m. in the Orr Building on the Illinois State Fairgrounds.

Tickets are now available online at MemorialsFestivalofTrees.com. The ticket price includes hors d'oeuvres, wine, beer, soft drinks and dessert. Live music, dancing and a silent auction are part of the program.

"Our annual gala is an elegant and festive opportunity to get a sneak peak at the Festival of Trees before we officially open," said Elena Kezelis, executive director of the Memorial Medical Center Foundation, which sponsors the holiday festival. "It's a great cause that's open to the public and helps us raise funds to benefit the health care programs offered by Memorial Medical Center."

Memorial's Festival of Trees will open a week later, running Nov. 23-Dec. 1 in the Orr Building. The theme for the 24th annual event is "Rejoice!"

The festival's hours are 10 a.m.-8 p.m. on Nov. 23, Nov. 25-27 and Nov. 29-30; from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. 24 and Dec. 1; and from 4 to 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 28.

Memorial's Festival of Trees began in 1989 as an event to benefit the health care programs offered by Memorial Medical Center. Since then, the holiday festival has raised more than $3.2 million for projects and programs at Memorial, including Independence Square, Memorial Hospice, Memorial's Regional Cancer Center and Memorial's Regional Burn Center.

For more information about the Festival of Trees or the gala, contact the Festival of Trees office at 217-788-4301 or visit MemorialsFestivalofTrees.com.

[Text from file received from Memorial Medical Center]