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1984-
The founding bracket: The Embassy Theatre dates its Festival of Trees to 1984, and its own 2014 history of the festival explains the arithmetic: in 1984 Maryellen Rice, a member of the theatre's board, asked her neighbor Barb Wigham, general manager of WPTA-TV, for a fundraiser idea, and Wigham recalled a festival of trees she had attended in Pennsylvania; the idea was a hit, and the first festival was held at the Embassy in 1985. This record prints the bracket as the house gives it, founded 1984 and first held 1985, because the festival is the Embassy's family Christmas in institutional form, and its birth certificate is the theatre's to write.
The form: For eight days across Thanksgiving week, the lobbies of the 1928 Embassy, the old Emboyd, and the adjoining Indiana Hotel fill with decorated trees in every size and theme, built by local businesses and organizations; the stage runs live entertainment by community groups, the Grande Page pipe organ and youth choirs and dance troupes; and children visit Santa and Mrs. Claus in Santa Land. The family mechanics were there in the 30th-year account and are there in the 40th: the festival ran its 40th annual from 27 November to 4 December 2024, the year after a festival of 67 decorated trees and over 25,000 visitors, with a Breakfast with Santa whose program includes a performance by the Fort Wayne Youtheatre, this section's oldest institution performing inside its Christmas one. The festival is the Embassy Theatre Foundation's largest annual fundraiser, which is the final Fort Wayne pattern in miniature: the children's Christmas spectacular is what pays to keep the palace standing.
Sources:
- Embassy Theatre, Festival of Trees event account (fwembassytheatre.org) ("Founded in 1984"; the lobby transformation; Santa visits; the Grande Page and youth entertainment).
- Embassy Theatre news release, 13 November 2014, carried by AroundFortWayne (the Rice and Wigham origin; the first festival held in 1985; Santa Land at the 30th festival).
- Embassy Theatre news release, 4 October 2024, carried by AroundFortWayne (the 40th annual; 67 trees and over 25,000 visitors the year before; Breakfast with Santa with the Youtheatre; the 1928 Emboyd origin).