Festival of Trees in Maryland celebrates 35th year of benefiting Kennedy Krieger Institute patients, students

BALTIMORE -- One of Maryland's most festive holiday traditions, The Kennedy Krieger Festival of Trees is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year.  

Over the past 35 years, the event has raised millions of dollars to benefit the patients, students and programs at Kennedy Krieger Institute. 

Festival of Trees runs from Friday, Nov. 29 through Sunday, Dec. 1, and includes entertainment, vendors, raffles and a special party on Sunday morning at 8 a.m. The festival is held at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium. 

It's the most wonderful time of the year for Lila and Pam Meadows who are part of Ken's Crew, one of the families taking part in the festival. 

"It's four generations of our family, from our nieces and nephews and sisters-in-law, all the way up to my granddaughter," Pam said. 

"My dad, who is our namesake on the trees, Ken, was such a big part of this," Lila said. "And we would come up with a small idea, and then before you knew it, we would have the most amazing tree toppers and other things that set our trees apart."  

Every ornament that is hung and every carol that is sung means much more than you think. 

"We have a very close family member who was the beneficiary of fantastic services from Kennedy Krieger," Lila said. "She received clinical care there, but was also lucky enough to attend the middle and high school, and it really changed her educational experience."  

For the Meadows, The Festival of Trees is a family affair that they want to share.  

"What Kennedy Krieger does for families like ours, and when you have a child who has IDD or mental health issues, to have a place to go to get help for them is so important, because you can't always get those services in a regular setting, and sometimes they need to go to someplace like Kennedy Krieger," Pam said. "And Kennedy Krieger needs families like us to support them."

The Meadows family's trees are joined by over 800 others designed by members of the community. 

Lila said, "We get competitive with each other in terms of we enjoy coming to the festival and seeing how our trees are priced and whose theme got sort of the highest price."

WJZ Anchors Decorate Trees

WJZ is a proud sponsor of the Festival of Trees, and each year, our talented anchors team up to decorate one-of-a-kind trees that are then sold during the festival.  

This year, Denise Koch and Nicky Zizaza decorated a "Wicked" themed tree in honor of the film's recent release.  

Kelsey Kushner and Dawn Brown designed a CBS News Baltimore-themed tree that shows off members of our team.  

Tim Williams, Steve Sosna, Sina Gebre-Ab and Angela Foster designed a "Wicked" themed tree complete with pink and green ornaments.  

Miana Massey and Rachael Jay designed a "Wicked" tree with ethereal-looking lights.  

Rick Ritter and Derek Beasley designed a traditional holiday tree with red, green and gold ornaments.  

Several other businesses also decorate trees that are then sold at the event.  

"These community groups, schools, Boy Scout troops come together and create amazing trees," said Jessica Gregg, Director of Public Relations at the Kennedy Krieger Institute. 

Every tree that is purchased benefits patients and students.  

"It's not an easy job," Pam said. "It's a hard job, and we are so lucky to have all of your clinical staff and all of your teachers and para-education individuals to help support all of the individuals in the IDD and mental health world."  

Find more information about the 2024 Festival of Trees HERE.