The United Way held their annual auction for the Festival of Trees at the Blennerhassett Hotel Wednesday evening. The trees are decorated by various individuals from families to businesses to nonprofits. See the full story and auction results in Friday’s story. (Photo by Gretchen Dowler)

PARKERSBURG — United Way held their annual auction for their Festival of Trees at the Blennerhassett Hotel Wednesday evening.

The Festival of Trees auction proceeds go towards United Way’s annual campaign and the non-profit organizations and agencies that they work with. The Festival itself has been a part of local holiday traditions for many years, but the number is unknown.

“We don’t know exactly how many years it’s been going on, but we know it’s been decades,” said United Way Executive Director Stacy Decicco about the Festival of Trees. “It actually belonged to another out of town organization before us with about 40 tree entries, but back in 2020 that’s when it transitioned to our ownership and since then we’ve been keeping it our signature event.”

According to Decicco, there are 55 tree entries in this year’s festival with a variety of sponsors, families, and nonprofits that have decorated them. Since the transition of ownership, United Way has diversified who has gotten to enter and buy the special trees with a variety of price points for any budget.

“It’s really a mix of who buys and what they buy the trees for,” Morgan Decicco, Marketing and Event Specialist, said. “Some businesses buy them for their office or certain nonprofits raffle them off.”

The United Way held their annual auction for the Festival of Trees at the Blennerhassett Hotel Wednesday evening. The trees are decorated by various individuals from families to businesses to nonprofits. See the full story and auction results in Friday’s story. (Photo by Gretchen Dowler)

See the full story and auction results in Friday’s story.

Gretchen Dowler can be reached at gdowler@newsandsentinel.com

The United Way held their annual auction for the Festival of Trees at the Blennerhassett Hotel Wednesday evening. The trees are decorated by various individuals from families to businesses to nonprofits. See the full story and auction results in Friday’s story. (Photo by Gretchen Dowler)

The United Way held their annual auction for the Festival of Trees at the Blennerhassett Hotel Wednesday evening. The trees are decorated by various individuals from families to businesses to nonprofits. See the full story and auction results in Friday’s story. (Photo by Gretchen Dowler)

The United Way held their annual auction for the Festival of Trees at the Blennerhassett Hotel Wednesday evening. The trees are decorated by various individuals from families to businesses to nonprofits. See the full story and auction results in Friday’s story. (Photo by Gretchen Dowler)

The United Way held their annual auction for the Festival of Trees at the Blennerhassett Hotel Wednesday evening. The trees are decorated by various individuals from families to businesses to nonprofits. See the full story and auction results in Friday’s story. (Photo by Gretchen Dowler)

The United Way held their annual auction for the Festival of Trees at the Blennerhassett Hotel Wednesday evening. The trees are decorated by various individuals from families to businesses to nonprofits. See the full story and auction results in Friday’s story. (Photo by Gretchen Dowler)

The United Way held their annual auction for the Festival of Trees at the Blennerhassett Hotel Wednesday evening. The trees are decorated by various individuals from families to businesses to nonprofits. See the full story and auction results in Friday’s story. (Photo by Gretchen Dowler)

The United Way held their annual auction for the Festival of Trees at the Blennerhassett Hotel Wednesday evening. The trees are decorated by various individuals from families to businesses to nonprofits. See the full story and auction results in Friday’s story. (Photo by Gretchen Dowler)

The United Way held their annual auction for the Festival of Trees at the Blennerhassett Hotel Wednesday evening. The trees are decorated by various individuals from families to businesses to nonprofits. See the full story and auction results in Friday’s story. (Photo by Gretchen Dowler)