Lodi’s Festival of Trees kicks off the season
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas at the San Joaquin County Historical Museum.
Local nonprofits, businesses, individuals and groups have joined with the museum’s docents to decorate the museum and grounds with dozens of festive trees.
“The trees are just gorgeous,” said Mary Little, a museum docent who is co-chairwoman for the 27th annual event.
All week long, people have been coming to the museum to decorate their trees, or drop off trees they created off-site.
And the docents have been working since summer — not just organizing the event, but also preparing craft supplies for hands-on activities like making rag dolls (back for a second year), punching tin ornaments and dipping candles.
“People have been working for us since August,” Little said.
It all comes together this Saturday and Sunday. Visitors to the museum will find more than just Christmas decor and crafts. Docents will be dressed in pioneer and Victorian-era clothing as they stroll the grounds with guests.
Entertainers will provide live music, and there will be plenty of fun hobby exhibits, from a huge double-decker train set owned by Jim Wilcox to a tiny matchstick recreation of old Lodi, complete with the old arch.
“It’s just amazing,” Little said.
Each of the more than 60 trees that will dot the grounds is decorated according to a different theme. One tree is decorated with a collection of purses, Little said.
The Segales of Double Dip Gallery tapped their artistic sides.
“It’s a Christmas tree looking like a woman in a dress,” she said.
Mike Smedley, a docent since 2016, will be offering wagon tours of the museum’s grounds. On Farmer Mike’s Wagon Ride, he’ll drive a tractor hitched to a wagon around the outskirts of the museum, sharing with guests what they can see in each building and outdoor exhibit area.
Plenty of entertainers will be performing during the weekend, including favorites Ethel Neufeld on the antique pump organ, Ukuladyz and Gentz, and the Swedish American Youth Group Folk Dancers.
They’ll be joined by the Tiny Tots, Woodbridge Elementary School Choir, Leslie Sain and Ginny Sue Medford, the Double Blessing Southern Gospel Quartet, Unique Vision Dance Company, the Heath & Mason Folk Singers, and the Caper Duck Cape Breton Step Dancers.
Each day will feature a different line-up of performers.
Storyteller and puppeteer Dorothy Maas will perform several times each day in the Pioneer Print Shop, and Santa and Mrs. Claus will be in attendance.
The docents will be selling “gorgeous” swags, Little said, and vendors and docents alike will sell hand-crafted gift items like decorations, jewelry, soap, greeting cards, and clothing for American Girl dolls, among other items. “It’s a busy place,” she said. The hands-on activities — which also include decorating cookies — are all based on fun projects children and adults would have enjoyed during pioneer times. Each of the crafts includes a nominal participation fee of $1 to $3, and crafters get to keep what they make.
Last but not least, three food trucks will be on the grounds, selling Greek food, hot dogs, and desserts.
Guests should also keep an eye out for a potential visit by Ghirardelli Chocolate Company, Little said.
“They started in Stockton,” she said. “Not many people know that.”
Those who want to skip out on the hustle and bustle of the entertainment and hands-on activities but still see the trees will have a chance with the Senior Preview on Friday.
“The Senior Preview is designed for seniors or those with physical difficulties. It is an opportunity to have full access to the grounds and enjoy some refreshments and looking at all the festive trees, decorations and exhibits,” said Linda Christensen, a museum docent from Stockton.
The event is the museum Docent Council’s biggest fundraiser of the year. The admission, sales and donations collected over the weekend go to support youth education programs like Valley Days and Pioneer School. Thousands of elementary students from throughout San Joaquin County participate in each program every year.
The funds also support programs like Farm to Fork for young students, and “Grandmother’s Trunk,” where docents go on the road to local schools with a trunk full of historical artifacts to share with classrooms.
The docents invite the community to come and get into the Christmas spirit while exploring the grounds and enjoying music, food and more.
“It’s going to be pretty spectacular,” Little said.