High-five: All tickets sold for Christmas Tree Elegance

We wish to express our thanks to our community for the overwhelming success of Christmas Tree Elegance 2017. Ticket sales were unprecedented, this is the first time in 35 years we actually ran out of tickets. But although we’re certainly pleased about this success, we’re also sorry that on the event’s last day there were some folks who were unable to purchase raffle tickets. And we believe we owe these folks an explanation.

Although we anticipated a big turnout this year and had the foresight to order 40,000 more tickets than we used in 2016, and although we ordered 20,000 more during the event, once those 20,000 were sold, it was not possible to obtain any more. This was because the printer had already used up his paper stock, and the strict laws within which we must operate (the Washington State Gambling Commission) prohibit any deviation among the tickets. Otherwise, we would have been happy to procure some other type of ticket.

Spokane Symphony Associates produces Christmas Tree Elegance as a fundraiser for the Spokane Symphony, and we are excited to report this year’s event raised $354,000 for this orchestra that is an important part of Spokane’s rich cultural life.

Carol Worthington-Borodin and Elizabeth Raol,

I would like to thank all those who laid wreaths at the Washington State Veteran’s Cemetery in Medical Lake (as part of Wreaths Across America). We laid my aunt to rest there a few years ago (she was a Marine in WWII) and to the person who laid that particular wreath on the grave of the self-professed chocoholic, I send my special thanks. Hopefully, I will make it back for the ceremony one of these years and can honor our veterans laid to rest there personally.

Annette Hendricks,