In 1997, Sandhills Children's Center set a $20,000 goal for its first Festival of Trees. It displayed 32 trees and raised almost $50,000. By 2017 the festival had grown to an annual display of 200 trees and was raising more than $200,000 a year, according to the Sandhills Sentinel.
Over those three decades, one thing has stayed the same. The 30th festival opens at The Carolina Hotel on Wednesday, Nov. 18, and admission is still by monetary donation. You decide what to give at the door. Once visitors are through that door, the festival gives them plenty of other ways to give.
From 32 Trees to Hundreds of Displays
The 2017 festival was held at The Carolina, as this year's is, and the festival's growth shows in the numbers.
| Year | Festival | What was on the floor | Fundraising picture |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 1st | 32 trees | Almost $50,000, against a $20,000 goal |
| 2017 | 21st | More than 200 trees, wreaths, gift baskets and gingerbread houses | More than $200,000 a year at that point |
| 2026 | 30th | "Hundreds" of decorated displays | First Place Best Fundraiser in Best of the Pines |
The 2017 and 1997 figures come from that year's Sentinel coverage. The 2026 announcement doesn't give a fundraising total. It does report that the festival recently took First Place for Best Fundraiser and Second Place for Best Holiday Event in the Best of the Pines competition.
Displays are no longer only trees. The festival's own auction page lists decorated trees, centerpieces, wreaths, swags, garlands, travel experiences and vignettes. Designers, local businesses, community organizations and volunteers create the displays.
Where the Money Comes In
A family that walks in for a small donation to see the trees can also bid, buy raffle tickets or give to the Angel Tree before they leave. The 2026 event offers these ways to give inside:
- Silent auction. Bidding covers decorated trees, holiday décor, experiences, themed gift baskets and other one-of-a-kind items. The festival asks bidders to register for the auction.
- Festival raffle. Tickets are sold through the whole run, and the winner is drawn Saturday evening before the festival closes.
- Angel Tree. Donors buy specific items for the Center, such as classroom supplies, therapy resources and adaptive equipment.
- Festival Gift Shop. It's open throughout the four public days.
- AmFund travel packages. Through a partnership with AmFund, a representative will be at the gala and at the festival on Nov. 18 and 19 with trips to Italy, Greece, Scotland, Ireland, Iceland, Spain and Alaska. Proceeds support the Center.
The ticketed evening comes first. The 30th Anniversary Premier Gala is Tuesday, Nov. 17, at 6:30 p.m. The Center's event listing places it in The Carolina Hotel Ballroom. The organizer's 2026 form prices individual tickets at $175 and a table of eight at $1,250. The semiformal evening includes cocktails, dinner, entertainment and a first look at the displays before the public sees them. Gala tickets are on sale through Thursday, Nov. 12.
For the auction, start at festivaloftrees.org, where the 30th festival's details are posted.
Picking Your Day
The public days are Wednesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. each day. The 21st festival in 2017 ran through a Sunday, but this year's festival ends Saturday night. Sandhills News has reported this schedule for each day:
- Wednesday, Nov. 18. Opening day and Girls' Night Out, an evening of shopping, holiday cheer and entertainment by the McKenzie Brothers. The AmFund representative is on hand.
- Thursday, Nov. 19. Adopt-A-Pal, where children pick a plush polar bear or penguin dressed in an exclusive Festival of Trees vest to take home. Bunker, the Fayetteville Woodpeckers mascot, visits from 5 to 6 p.m. This is also the second and last day with AmFund.
- Friday, Nov. 20. No signature event has been announced, so you'll have the displays, gift shop and auction on their own.
- Saturday, Nov. 21. The final day, with the raffle drawing in the evening before the festival closes.
If you want to see the displays while bidding is still open, the earlier days give you the most time. If you hold raffle tickets, Saturday evening is when the winner is drawn.
The Carolina is also partway through its own project this fall. Pinehurst Resort says the Carolina Dining Room closed May 6 for a full renovation and is expected to reopen in late December 2026, so it will still be closed during festival week. The Resort's updates page lists the other breakfast and dinner options.
Who the Money Serves
The festival benefits Sandhills Children's Center, a nonprofit developmental day school that opened on Sept. 15, 1970. It serves children with and without special developmental needs from birth through age five, and its programs include early education, therapies and family support. Its work reaches Moore, Richmond, Montgomery, Hoke, Scotland and Anson counties.
This is the link between the Angel Tree and the classrooms. The classroom supplies, therapy resources and adaptive equipment donors buy there directly benefit the children and families the Center serves.
Volunteers have kept the festival going. According to Sandhills Sentinel, a volunteer committee plans it year-round, many members have served for decades, and one has been involved since the first festival 30 years ago. That volunteer, Jeanie Eastman, told the Sentinel:
"One of the most rewarding things about Festival of Trees is seeing how it brings our community together year after year. We've watched this event grow over 30 years, but its purpose has never changed: helping local children thrive while creating holiday memories for families throughout the Sandhills."
The Same Saturday, and the Two Weeks After
The festival's last day falls on a busy Saturday. On the morning of Nov. 21, the Pinehurst Turkey Trot and the Little Gobbler 1-Mile Fun Run start at the Village Arboretum, 105 Rassie Wicker Drive. The fun run goes off at 8:30 a.m. and the 5K at 9 a.m. As of late October, RunSignup lists entry fees of $37 and $52. You can run in the morning and still get to The Carolina before the raffle drawing that evening.
After the festival closes, the Village moves straight into its own holiday events:
| Date | Event | Where | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov. 23–28 | Shop Small promotion. Bring proof of purchase from a Village business to enter a gift-basket drawing | George P. Lane Welcome Center, 90 Cherokee Road | Free to enter |
| Friday, Dec. 4 | A Village Christmas holiday open house, with extended hours and pop-up shops downtown | Village specialty shops, galleries and boutiques | Free |
| Friday, Dec. 4, 5–7:30 p.m. | Christmas Tree Lighting, with music, vendors, food and Santa. Lighting at 6:30 p.m. | James W. Tufts Memorial Park | Free |
Details for each are on the Village of Pinehurst's Shop Small page, the Pinehurst Business Partners A Village Christmas page and the Village's tree lighting listing. The Village is lighting its tree less than two weeks after the festival's last tree comes down at The Carolina.
If the 30th Festival of Trees has you picturing a Pinehurst holiday season of your own, from the morning Turkey Trot to the lighting at Tufts Memorial Park, I'd be glad to talk about how these weeks feel from the Village. Reach out to Rose Ward at Fore Properties. Let's Connect.
