Festival of Trees

I went to Festival of Trees last month, at the Indiana Historical Society, and forgot to show some great photos while I was there. My children, who are adults now, have been visiting for quite a few years now. We like to go to the twilight hours so that it seems more festive. There are so many trees and talented decorators. We usually spend about 1.5 hours and then visit the gift shop after to pick up any additional Christmas gifts that we may need. If you don't have this place on your yearly Christmas celebrations I encourage you to do so. It's lovely.

This is my second time to this event and it is a fun family activity. The trees are displayed all throughout the museum so you can view the exhibits and the trees. They have around 70 trees decorated by organizations and businesses. It's fun to see how each one is different and they try and make it interactive for kids as well by hiding pickles on certain trees to find. The staff are very informative and friendly. It's a great holiday event!

The Festival of Trees was actually my first time at the Indiana Historical Society. I was blown away by the beauty of the space, elevated by the elaborately decorated trees throughout the building. It was a pleasant surprise that the exhibits were also open, so we went in a few once we were done viewing the 75+ trees sponsored by local businesses and organizations. Since it was our first time at the Festival of Trees, when we arrived we were surprised that there was a long line to get in. I was glad that we purchased our tickets in advance so we could move to a faster-moving line. While I'm sure that there are days that aren't as full, we went on a very busy night, which made it hard to get through certain spots and move to different floors.I enjoyed that they had an evening option (Twilight Tuesdays), which worked well with our schedule. It's a very kid-friendly event, but fun for adults too. I liked that they offered complimentary Heaven Hills bourbon tasting for the adults. While we didn't try the food or drink, they did have it available for purchase.The Festival of Trees was a fun evening and wonderful Indianapolis holiday tradition!

Festival of trees is an annual tradition for me, mom and my daughters. We love to pick a favorite tree and look at all the unique ornaments each tree has on them. We really enjoyed the singer in Cole Porter room this year. She had a beautiful voice. My daughter tried the virtual reality. It is always a great time!

As I entered the 2021 holiday season, I committed to myself that I would try to venture out and increase my holiday activities in Central Indiana. As someone who grew up in a home that didn't celebrate Christmas (or any other holidays), I've never really had much of a strong feeling around Christmas other than kind of wishing I could get into the holiday spirit. It doesn't help that I've had a couple of major life traumas that occurred over the holidays. I'm definitely someone who leans more into the idea of "blue Christmas" than the usual festive cheer. But, I'm genuinely trying this year despite it being the first Christmas season since my mother's passing. Festival of Trees is an activity I've always wanted to experience. It all unfolds at Indiana History Center, a location that happens to just be a block or two away from my downtown office. As someone who requires wheelchair access, I'm also typically pleased with Indiana History Center parking and accessibility. This year's Festival of Trees started on Nov. 12th and runs through January 8th. It is not open on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve, or New Year's Day. Ticket prices are $13 for adults, $12 for Seniors (60+), $5 for youths (5-17)/students, and free for children under 5. IHS members get their usual discount. It's worth noting that educators, healthcare workers, military, and first responders get in for free with ID required. Access Pass holders get in for $2. There are some other folks who get in for free, though I'll admit I don't understand what all these are - ICAA, Local History Partner Plus, and Time Traveler Network. Tickets, for the record, allow you to actually tour Indiana History Center exhibits. This year's festival includes 75 trees. This is a little bit lower than some years, though there's still a definite pandemic impact. The trees, however, are quite amazing. I knew I was going to go as soon as I found out that Heartland Film has a tree in the festival - it was definitely worth the visit. Additional activities on top of the trees displayed include Twilight Tuesdays with Hotel Tango, Holiday Standards in the Cole Porter Room, crafts for kids, a display from "A Christmas Story," and there's even a virtual display available from the Indiana History Center website for those who actually can't get there for the event. It has some cool interactivity to it. There are some additional event opportunities including some where Santa shows up during designated times. I'm impressed with how that dude manages his schedule. I mean, if I had my biggest day of the year coming up I'm not sure I could squeeze in breakfast or lunch with the kids. Santa is definitely on the nice list. This was definitely a cool event and a nice way to start kicking off my renewed commitment to find some joy this holiday season. I hope to take in some other events, however, I've always had a thing for Christmas trees and this event definitely had me smiling from beginning to end.

What a fun event for all ages! Went to the Festival of Trees with my parents. Each tree was decorated by a sponsor company. If bringing children there is a scavenger hunt sheet that they provide at the front desk during check in. You have to locate the pickle ornaments on multiple trees - a few on every floor. There were some very unique decorations - it is clear, extremely talented people decorated these trees. A few of my favorites were the Indianapolis zoo with tigers pushing over a tree, a local coffee shop created a Gnome Santa with a short tree on a table, and a Jack's donut shop had a colorful donut inspired tree.Each Indiana university and sports team had a tree as well. I would definitely go again next year. I wish they had this in Denver, it could be a great fundraising event.

Festival of Trees at the Indiana Historical Society was one of those things that I didn't know I needed till I experienced it a few years ago. It truly puts you in the holiday spirits and gives you this beautiful sense of community and that warm, fuzzy feeling you get during the holiday season. Inside the BEAUTIFUL IN Historical Society, you'll see nearly 100 trees decorated by different themes. You'll find businesses such as local donut shops, Yelp Indy ;) , tire stores, and everything in between. Some times even Santa appears, based on a time I've gone in the past! This is a holiday-must that's perfect for a date night to get you in the holiday mood!

The Indiana Historical Society holds the Festival of Trees every year from before Thanksgiving until after the new year. It's a short window, so go see it while you can!More than 80 decorated Christmas trees adorn the museum. The trees are peppered throughout each of the four floors, so it's nice to just take your time and marvel at the creativity of each person (or group) who decorated them. You'll see traditional Christmassy trees, and then you'll also see trees decorated with crazy stuff like bread and wine corks. Each tree is an individual work of art.Each tree has a little sign by it that tells you who designed it, and if it's a company, what they do. As you look at all the trees, keep tabs of the ones you like the best. You can vote for your favorites as you exit the museum.Santa and Mrs. Claus make an appearance as well. You'll see them meandering down the halls with their basket of candy canes to give to everyone. Since this is a historical museum, this is a vintage Santa, so he looks like something out of a book from the turn of the century. It's a nice touch! Another fun thing for the kids to do is look for the Elf on the Shelf character. They hide this guy in different places every day, and if you find him, you get a special surprise at the front desk. We had to ask the front desk for a clue because they hid him a little too well for us.The day we visited, there was a performance of The Nutcracker taking place in the auditorium of the museum. Each weekend they have something special like that: a play, classes, etc. These things are free with admission to the museum.It goes without saying that when you purchase a ticket to the Festival of Trees, you also get access to the whole museum. So feel free to wander into their permanent exhibits! You also get free parking if you have it validated at the front desk.

Can't believe I've lived in Indy so long and hadn't been before. For 2019, the Festival of Trees at the Indiana Historical Society has 92 beautiful and fun themed trees. I understand it keeps getting bigger every year. Full disclosure, this event wasn't even on my radar until this year when my company was a sponsor and got to decorate one of the smaller trees. Viewing the displays is a wonderful way to get in the holiday spirit. This year, the event is open for public viewing from 11/15 through 1/4/20. Attendees also get the chance to explore the Historical Society and take a step back in time. #FOTIndy #ReviewsByRL

We loved seeing all of the trees and learning about Indiana history . The trees were amazing ! A must see !