HERMISTON — Hermiston’s annual Festival of Trees is canceled for 2020 due to COVID-19 concerns, but Kiwanis Club and the Good Shepherd Community Health Foundation still raised money for a good cause.

The two organizations usually put on the Festival of Trees at the Hermiston Community Center each year, auctioning off trees decorated by local businesses and other organizations, and allowing families to visit the display of trees. 

This year, Kiwanis and the health foundation solicited donations for the Hermiston Police Department’s Christmas Express, which provides boxes of food and gifts for families in need. According to a news release from John Spomer and Liz Marvin, the Festival of Trees co-chairs, they will donate about $3,000 to Christmas Express “through the generous support of several businesses.”

The Kiwanis Club is also going to virtually auction off a tree, which is on display downtown at Two96Main, located at 296 Main St. A link to bid on the tree is here:32auctions.com/kiwanischristmastree.

“Without a doubt, the Hermiston Festival of Trees will return to be a significant part of the 2021 holiday season,” Spomer and Marvin wrote.