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Port Alberni’s Festival of Trees cancelled this year

Due to unforeseen circumstances, the BC Children’s Hospital Festival of Trees has been cancelled.

Due to unforeseen circumstances, the BC Children’s Hospital Festival of Trees, which usually takes place in the lobby at the Best Western Barclay Plus Hotel, has been cancelled.

Festival chairpersons Barb and Steve Kalugin posted about the cancellation on a BC Children’s Hospital Foundation website—the festival historically raised funds for the BCCH foundation.

“Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances that have left us without sufficient time to devote to the event or to find alternate volunteer leadership, we have had to cancel this year’s Festival of Trees,” the Kalugins posted.

“We value and greatly appreciate the support and interest we’ve seen from past and potential sponsors (and) community partners...As we draw closer to Christmas, we hope that the residents of Port Alberni will still consider supporting BC Children’s Hospital, which serves approximately 200 children from Port Alberni, as well as hundreds more from the west coast, and central and northern Vancouver Island every year.”

People will still be able to donate either by going to the BC Children’s Hospital foundation website at www.bcchf.ca and clicking on the “donate online” link, or by mailing a cheque to Port Alberni Festival of Trees, attention: Danielle Fullwood, 360B Harbour Rd., Victoria, BC, V9A 3S1.

Donations will help fund the purchase of GE Seer Light Holter monitors, which provide heart patients with heart rhythm monitoring to record irregularities, conduct heart rate surveillance and screen for potentially life-threatening arrhythmias.

Port Alberni’s Canadian Tire was the 2014 Festival of Trees winner. Teams from participating businesses created a forest of Christmas trees in the lobby.