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Joan Osbourne

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Christmas Tree Festival opens in Red Lion Square

One of the avenues of Christmas Trees decorated by local organisations.

Following hot on the heels of the Stamford Christmas Lights switch on last night, the Stamford and District Lions Club opened its Christmas Tree Festival in St John’s Church today. Organisations from across the area are showcasing their decorated trees to the public, in an effort to raise money for the Sue Ryder charity.

The work of many Stamford community organisations is being showcased in the town’s Christmas Tree Festival from today. Organised by the Stamford Lions, the event which sits alongside Cards for Good Causes within St John’s church runs until the 11th December. It was officially opened this morning by the Stamford Pantomime Players.

Nearly 40 trees from Digby Farm have been decorated by Stamford organisations, ranging from local theatre to the food bank and even Rutland and Stamford Sound! The festival is raising money by donation to the Sue Ryder Thorpe Hall Hospice and is open seven days a week.

Gill Clarke from the Lions says every organisation has done it differently:

“The Diversity [tree], for instance, is supporting Ukraine this year” say Gill “and is completely yellow and blue and there are cards for people to put [their own] prayers for Ukrainians…then you have Stamford Stitchers who stitch all their decorations, all hand made and ready for the tree. They’re all gorgeous!”

As well as the Christmas Tree Festival, the beautiful St John’s Church on Red Lion Square is hosting the annual pop-up shop Cards for Good Causes, which sells all manner of Christmas cards, gifts, decorations, and calendars to raise money for nominated charities. Last year the Stamford branch of the charitable organisation raised £75,000.

To hear the full interview with Gill Clarke, click on the play icon.

For more about the Cards for Good Causes charity, click here: Cards for Good Causes | Cards and Gifts that Give Back| Greeting Cards and Gifts | Support Charity (cardsforcharity.co.uk)

For more about the Stamford and District Lions, please click here: Home | Stamford Lions

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