Being Miss Utah means always working to embody the four points of the Miss America crown — service, scholarship, success, and style — along with living a life filled with heart, kindness, courage, and imagination.
In celebration of those values, and in honor of the Miss America Organization’s partnership with the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, the 55 current Miss Utah contestants recently took part in Primary Children’s Hospital’s Festival of Trees in Sandy, Utah.
The Festival of Trees is a Christmas bonanza, where individuals from all over Utah donate hundreds of items to raise money for Primary Children’s Hospital. Everything from decorated and themed Christmas trees, wreaths, gingerbread houses, tabletop displays, baked goodies, handcrafted items, and quilts are auctioned off for charity. Guests can also come see the trees and donate to the charity themselves.
This annual fundraiser helps to provide millions of dollars worth of health care to children at Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City.
Festival of Trees Display: “Miss Utah’s Closet”
This year, the Miss Utah Organization’s tree was titled “Miss Utah’s Closet,” and focused on not only the heart a Miss Utah or Miss Utah contestant should have, but also on the aspirations, hopes, and imaginations that help inspire little girls everywhere to become women who can change the world.
Miss Utah contestants donated more than 183 ornaments to help decorate the tree, along with endless dress-up costumes, crowns, jewelry and more. All of the items with the tree are sold to raise money for Primary Children’s.
Current Miss Utah, JessiKate Riley, and Miss Utah 2018 contestants then met on Nov. 27th — the festival’s famed Decorating Day — to put the tree together.
In addition to putting together their own group tree, Miss Utah contestants are helping at the Festival in other ways, from volunteering as hostesses to decorating additional trees, helping on auction night, or working in the Kids Korner.
This is the second year the Miss Utah contestants have worked together to create a Festival of Trees tree and is just one of many ways these queens are giving back to their Utah communities during this holiday season.
The Festival of Trees runs through Saturday, December 2, 2017, from 10 am to 9 pm.