PHestivaL of Trees Take Place at King of Prussia Mall this Weekend

The third annual PHestivaL of Trees event will take place this Saturday Dec. 3 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM and Sunday December 4 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM at the King of Prussia Mall. (The event’s founder Ms. BJ Zellers intentionally chose to spell festival that way in order to give it a Philadelphia connection.) The key objective is to raise money for local animal shelters.

“Last year we raised $48,000.00,” said Zellers.

According to Zellers, last year, over 150 trees were decorated and sold to generate $48,000.00 distributed between eight local animal rescues.

This year her goal is to raise $50,000.00.

The PHestivaL of Trees this year will be quite different.

For the first two years, it was held at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center; food and entertainment were provided and ticket prices ranged from $10.00 to $20.00. This year, children ages 5-18 only pay $5.00 and adults pay $10.00. Like previous years, children under five are admitted for free.

Zellers hopes that the reduction of the ticket prices will bring even more people to The PHestivaL of Trees this year.

In addition, this year no food or entertainment will be provided.

Asked for an explanation, Zellers answered:

“it’s now all about the trees and the real stars of the event, the adoptable pets.”

This year activities will consist of decorating the Christmas trees, spending time with Santa Claus and giving attention to the adoptable pets.

Another reason for the change is that the King of Prussia Mall is smaller in size and scope than the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center.

The five animal rescues attending this year’s PHestivaL of Trees are:

• Hart 2 Heart
• Finding Shelter Animal Rescue
• Senior Dog Haven & Hospice
• Lucky You!
• Animal House Project

The PHestivaL of Trees’ publicist Jennifer Sherlock remembered its first year - 2020. It was during the pandemic where thousands of people were still social distancing.

“This was one of the first group activities I attended since COVID,” said Sherlock. “That year we decorated Christmas trees outside the Expo Center. It was cold, so decorating them was really authentic.”

Zellers remembered that last year a dog was missing an organ, therefore, money was raised so that it could have surgery and then live a more comfortable life.

Seeing how The PHestivaL of Trees makes a positive impact in the lives of these animals is why Zellers is enthusiastic about this two-day event.

More details can be found at http://PHestivaLofTrees.com