The annual Festival of Trees celebration will be hosted at the Westford Regency Inn from Saturday, Dec. 6 to Sunday, Dec. 14, and will be the final large-scale event held at the Regency due to its closing on Dec. 19.
The event is being sponsored by the Westford Rotary Club, Roudenbush Community Center, and the Westford Regency.
The Festival of Trees has been running since 2010 and was started by Patti Mason as a part of the Westford Family FunFest non-profit, an advisory fund with the Greater Lowell Community Foundation. According to Mason, she wanted to start a free event that commemorated the holiday season.
“[I] wanted to start a free event that celebrated the holidays in many ways,” Mason said.
Every year, various organizations from across Westford decorate and donate Christmas trees to display at the Regency Inn. However, the display doesn’t just feature trees. It has grown into all types of showcases including wreaths, nutcracker exhibits, and gingerbread displays. There are also miniature craft fundraisers for youth groups and food stalls housed within the Regency.
“In my time, there have been a few local families that have donated their nutcracker collection after a family member has passed. There is a wide variety of items, each having their own unique look,” Westford Regency Inn Sales Manager Elaine Anastasivites-Meikle said.
The festival will be open for viewing 24/7, and attendees can vote for their favorite tree while at the event. There are also silent auctions on certain displays. The Festival of Trees does not cost any money to participate, meaning that anyone can decorate a tree to submit.
“Roudenbush is thrilled to donate a tree again this year. Our team had so much fun designing it, and we hope visitors enjoy it as much as we enjoyed creating it,” Roudenbush Community Center Director of Community Education & Market Manager Amanda Krohn said.
The theme for this year’s festival is Celebrating the Holidays, Culture, and More. Along with the festival itself there will be breakfast and brunch with Santa on Saturday, Dec 13 and on Sunday, Dec 14. Attendees will be able to view all the decorations as well as listen to live music on both days.
“Westford Regency puts on the Breakfast with Santa events and Sunday Brunch events [which] are very popular. [There’s] music by Westford Girl Scouts and others during these events too,” Mason said.
The Westford Regency is set to close on Dec. 19, 2025 due to it being sold to the Redgate firm. The complex will be renovated into two four-story buildings. The festival will be shortened in response to the closing; where in prior years it stretched over the entirety of December, this year it will only be active for about two weeks.
Following the closure of the Westford Regency, the festival will continue at a multitude of different locations because of the surplus of trees.
“It will be moved to the Westford Common area [and] use the Westford museum, Parish Center for the Arts, Roudenbush Community Center, First Parish Church and JV Fletcher Library once reopened,” Mason said. “Other Westford locations may be added in the future.”
