Akron Children's Hospital is kicking off the holiday season with its 45th Annual Holiday Tree Festival. This year, the John S. Knight Center will be filled with nearly 150 trees and wreaths, all decorated by community volunteers.
Susan Berk is the chair of this year's festival. She says the hospital never has trouble finding volunteers who want to give each tree its own unique flair.
"First-time decorators, multiple-year decorators, and they all kind of talk to each other, share ideas, and a lot of times, once you come, you wanna come back and do it again."
Emily Lees was a first-time decorator this year and said she was inspired after attending the festival for the first time in 2025.
"Akron Children's Hospital is really important to me," she said. "They saved my son's life multiple times."
After her son was born, Lees said doctor's discovered a problem with his heart. She designed her tree to honor heart patients and healthcare workers by handmaking heart ornaments.
"I didn't really realize how long it was gonna take to really fill up the whole entire tree," Lees said. "I'm guessing I probably did like 20 hours of crafting for it."
Berk said the trees do much more than set the spirit for the holidays. They help provide financial support for the hospital.
"All the volunteers, the decorators, the people who come, they all know it's for the kids and I think that's what keeps us focused."
Akron Children's says, since it began, the festival has raised $7.9 million.
Berk said this year's festival features a new display which puts an Akron spin on Whoville from "How The Grinch Stole Christmas."
The festival kicks off with a gala and silent auction Friday night. After that the trees will be on display until November 22. Admission is free and open to the public.
