Yellowknife (Oct 29/04) - This year, the Festival of Trees will feature trees and painted doors.

"I think we're saturated with trees," said Linda Bussey, director of the Stanton Hospital Foundation, which puts on the annual fundraiser in Yellowknife.

Linda Bussey, director of the Stanton Hospital Foundation, prepares for the Festival of Trees. - Joyce MacDonald/NNSL photo

In addition to auctioning off the artificial trees, decorated with paintings and pool passes, the Hospital Foundation will sell four painted doors.

"I was travelling down south and I kept seeing painted barn doors," said Bussey of how she came up with the idea.

The doors -- two interior and two exterior, all standard size -- will be painted by local artists Darcy Moses, Lauren Cowles, Terrance Pamplin and Jan Granberg.

PInk is in

"I do florals and they're big," said Cowles, explaining that she plans to paint a pink daisy on one side of her door and a pink cyclamen flower on the other.

She said she wanted to do the door to help raise money for the hospital.

Bussey said the fundraiser brought in between $30,000 and $50,000 in past years.

The money from the fourth annual Festival of Trees will help purchase a cystoscope and a digital colposcope, two instruments used in gynecology.

"The more you have scopes like this, the more you are able to detect early signs of cancer," said Bussey.

The Festival of Trees Gala will take place Nov. 26 with a few changes from last year.

Tickets will cost $100 instead of $40, there will be a sit-down dinner and entertainment by impersonator Andre Phillipe Gagnon.

Fifteen trees will be auctioned off, as well as the four doors and a number of wreaths. One particular tree, created by the City of Yellowknife, will be on display in the Co-op store and will be raffled off.

Bussey said the painted doors will probably appear in future years, too.

"In 20 years, I want Yellowknife to be the painted door capital of Canada," she said.

"It could be our new tourist attraction."