United Cerebral Palsy will be holding the 28th Annual Long Island Festival of Trees on
Nov. 24, 25 and 26 at the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Garden City.
Cost: Adults – $15 per person and Children – $10 (kids 2 and under free)
This event is known for its designer-decorated trees and gingerbread village.
It also features continuous live entertainment, Santa, vendor marketplace, children’s activities, Department 56 village and display, and more! All trees and gingerbread are for sale.
All proceeds raised benefit the Cerebral Palsy Association of Nassau County, Inc. and the Cradle of Aviation Museum.
Star Wars will be the special theme on Saturday, with the group from the 501st Legion and Empire City Garrison mingling with guests from 10 am until 3 pm.
Their “Blast a Trooper” event will take place during their visit too. The group will be center stage in the entertainment area from 2:30 until 3:30 p.m. taking about their experiences and taking questions from their fans in the audience.
A Star Wars tree will be on display the whole weekend and is available for sale to the highest bidder!
The Empire City Garrison is the New York division of The 501st Legion, the world’s definitive Star Wars costuming organization.
One of the original garrisons in a 6,000 member organization that spans across the United States and to nearly 50 countries around the world, ECG covers all of New York City, Long Island, and the five boroughs, enforcing the Empire’s rule and spreading the magic of Star Wars through appearances at charity events
ECG’s volunteer members pride themselves on their professionalism and attention to detail in bringing to life some of the most recognizable characters in the Star Wars universe, including Darth Vader, Boba Fett, Captain Rex, Commander Cody and a veritable army of Stormtroopers and Clone Troopers.
In addition to its charity work, ECG has worked closely with corporations including Pepsi, DK Publishing, Random House, Adidas, NBC, Verizon Wireless, and Lucasfilm itself to plan and execute major promotional events like movie premieres and product launches. Empire City Garrison members have appeared on the Today Show, Fox News, Discovery Science Channel, MTV, Spike TV, G4, and have even had the honor of ringing the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange.
There will be continuous entertainment including many dance and choral groups. The display of 40 6 ½ ft. trees will amaze you! Connoisseur Media’s tree and the Anton News tree both feature a myriad of gift certificates, valuable tickets to fun shows and attractions! The unique trees by community groups and designers include, “Dino-Mite Holiday” by the LI Children’s Museum and The Theresa Academy of Performing Arts from Lido Beach will create “A Person’s a Person, No Matter How Small” with the help of the student artists who attend programs at TAPA.
The Fashion Design Club from Nassau Community College is doing a “Fa La La La La Felted Tree” with all handmade ornaments made of, you guessed it, felt! The Syosset High School National Art Honor Society is doing a tree called “Patriot.” Lynne DiStasio is a designer who is decorating her tree with hockey in mind called “Rangers in Tinseltown.” And look for a tree from the NY Islanders Hockey Club too!
Au Pair Care’s tree is called “Music: The Universal Language” and will be decorated by au pairs who hail from many nations! The tree by the Metro Parrott Head Club called “Under the Sea” is certain to bring back fun beach memories. Barbara Teepe and June Nagy are back with their firefighter themed tree a “Firefighter’s Dream Tree” that is always a favorite. We welcome a tree from our friends at the Disney Store this year that is certain to be magical!
For all those who love bling, be sure to see these three special trees. The Suffolk County Homemakers tree is titled “Bright and Bold: Silver and Gold” and the tree from Flowers by Voegler is titled “Sparkle & Shine” and designer Serge Alahverdian has titled his tree, “Golden Fantasy.”
The Homemakers Council of Nassau County’s tree is called “Angels Among Us” and will include over a hundred ornaments all handmade by crafters from all over Nassau County! Cathy Lupo comments. “The Nassau Homemakers are very dedicated to the Cerebral Palsy Association year-round as volunteers, kind of like angels among us! Our members helped to decorate hundreds of the small trees on display and for sale at the Festival. We are so happy to be able to help such a worth organization year after year.”
Kristi Halpern’s tree called “Christmas Elegance” will be fashioned of gorgeous ribbon and Peggy Bridgewater’s tree called “Christmas Sparkle” is certain to have everyone feeling the joy of the holiday season. The Adult Day Services department at CP Nassau is doing a “Kindness Rocks” tree and will be selling a selection of hand-painted rocks that have inspirational sayings on them!
These trees are all for sale and, in addition, there will be over a hundred 2 ft trees in all different themes and wreaths and swags for sale with all the proceeds going to CP Nassau.
Culinary students from the Barry Tech Institute in Westbury are creating almost 100 original gingerbread creations! Some of the creations will feature the Star Wars theme, so look for some Darth Vaders good enough to eat!
There will be continuous entertainment on the Festival stage including singer Brittany Berke; the Richmond Street Band, the Uniondale H.S. Band, Step and Style Dance and 5678 Dance from Levittown; Ballroom Legacy from Sea Cliff; Show Stomping Irish Dance and Leggz Ltd Dance from Rockville Centre; North Shore Dance from Huntington Station; Step by Step Dance from Farmingdale, the Platinum Performance Dance Academy from Bellmore, the Ella Marie School of Dance from Hicksville, Moves and Motions from Seaford; LoPresti Dance Theatre from Nesconset, Vennettes Cultural Workshop from Wyandanch and Gone Dancing from Oyster Bay.
There will be lots of vendors selling all sorts of great items and you can do all your holiday shopping at the Festival and avoid the lines at the Mall and find terrific things at great prices!
With paid admission, children will get to decorate a gingerbread cookie with all sorts of fun trimmings in the cookie area. Entrance to the Cradle of Aviation Museum is included with paid admission to the Festival. The ticket to enter the museum normally costs $14 so guests are truly getting a real bargain while helping raise funds for 2 great organizations and having an enjoyable time!
Hours: Friday and Saturday 10 am – 6 pm, Sunday 10 am – 5 pm.
Admission is $15 adults, $10 children (2 to 12), (children under two are admitted free.)
Includes entry to the Festival and Cradle of Aviation Museum and the Junior Jet Club
Tickets are available online at www.cradleofaviation.org
For information call 516-378-2000 ext. 648 or go to www.cpnassau.org
