The Festival of Trees is an event that is put on by Natural Bridge State Park every year and has been a community tradition that gives back to those in need for the past ten years. The Festival of Trees event runs from the day after Thanksgiving through New Years.
Trees are thematically decorated with ornaments and lights, then placed inside of the Visitor Center at the state park. These trees are donated by local businesses, community groups, organizations, and schools.
Once trees are decorated, visitors can vote on their favorite tree for $1 and all of the proceeds collected go towards supporting the community. Food and essential items are collected from the Glasgow/Natural Bridge Food Pantry, Project Horizon, and Rockbridge Connect and Nourish.
Last year, 7,955 total items were collected to help support, give back, and care for our community. The event is a great way to bring people together, celebrate the holidays, and most importantly give back to those who need it most.
Event coordinator and organizer Brandy Flint expresses what this event continues to mean to her year after year.
“Being part of this event reminds me every year just how generous and connected our community truly is. It’s so much more than beautifully decorated trees—it’s people coming together to make a real, tangible difference,” Flint said.
Flint and four others are on the committee for the event, volunteering a significant amount of their time to decorating, organizing, planning, and setting up everything for the event. Their efforts as well as community involvement and donations are what makes this event possible each year.
At the end of the event each year, many people reach out to show their gratitude for what the event accomplished.
“We receive calls from the organizations we support, pouring out their gracious thanks for all the donations. Hearing directly from them about the immense, positive impact these gifts will have in our community—that is what makes all the effort, all the planning, and all the hard work absolutely and completely worthwhile,” Flint said.
Classes here at Rockbridge will be decorating and donating a tree for the annual event. Some of the teachers who are involved in this generous process are Amanda Grimm, Gwen Gosney, Jessika Crance, and Robyn Sherman.
Amanda Grimm’s Educators Rising class decorated a tree that was fittingly themed around school supplies, materials, and learning tools. Similar to Flint, Grimm and her students were excited to participate knowing that they were helping out those in need.
The decorations they used for their tree did not just consist of regular lights or ornaments. “We are happy to say that a majority of the items used to decorate our tree can also be doubled as donations for local children in need of school supplies,” Grimm said.
This was a way for her and her class to incorporate important aspects of education and teaching as well as donating to the event at the same time. Other classes are participating in a similar way, which shows how willing our school community is to contribute to a beneficial event such as this one.
To learn more about the event visit the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation website on the 2025 Festival of Trees. In addition, stop by the visitor center at the Natural Bridge State park and see the trees that have been decorated.
