AmeriLife® to be Showcased with Featured Tree at UPARC Festival of Trees
As final preparations for the 2014 Festival of Trees are underway, AmeriLife, the premiere annuity, life and health insurance marketing group in America, has partnered with UPARC, a not-for-profit corporation that provides services for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, as the Presenting Sponsor for this year’s 30th annual event. For the second year in a row, AmeriLife is also being showcased as the event’s featured tree, which is custom-decorated, donated to the event and auctioned off to benefit UPARC.
A beautiful 10 foot Christmas tree decorated by a team of employees of AmeriLife and its subsidiaries (Kathy Blais, Kelly Atkinson, Megan Brannigan, Anne LaConte-Polz, and Morgan North), this year’s Featured Tree showcases bright colors of lime green, fuschia and aqua as it is filled with a variety of whimsical candy ornaments sure to make your mouth water. With the scent of sugar cookies filling the air, guests are sure to enjoy exploring this year’s tree to see what sort of trouble Santa’s elves are getting into in the Candy Castle.
“We were inspired by this year’s Candyland Christmas theme,” said decorating team leader and Director of Marketing Communications for AmeriLife, Kathy Blais. “As Presenting Sponsor, we had the unique opportunity to collaborate with the UPARC team to bring the event’s theme to life and fully immerse our design team in what a real-life Candyland would look like.”
Building on the theme of last year’s featured tree, which raised $2,300 for UPARC, this year’s tree includes an elf soaking in a hot tub of hot cocoa with marshmallow bubbles and another diving head-first into a tub of icing. With several hand-made ornaments and décor, as well as a custom-created topper that resembles the Candy King’s top-hat, this truly is a one-of-a-kind Christmas tree that is sure to turn heads.
Donating $20,000 to support UPARC and the 2014 Festival of Trees, AmeriLife also helped to bring life to this year’s Candyland Christmas theme by designing and printing various marketing materials and signage for the event.
Renowned in the Tampa Bay area as a holiday festival in a family-centered fantasyland and a signature event supporting UPARC, Festival of Trees promises to be a memorable (and mouth-watering) way to get into the Christmas spirit. This year, guests will stroll through the colorful streets of Candyland as The Long Center gymnasium is transformed into a whimsical winter forest lined with candy treats.
Showcasing over 150 trees and wreaths, as well as vendor booths to help guests start their holiday shopping early, Festival of Trees will also offer photos with Santa and the opportunity for youngsters to enjoy special activities in the Children’s Village.
Festival of Trees is open to the public from November 21-23, 2015. Ticket prices are $5; children under 10 are free. For more information about the event, please visit uparcfoundation.org.
About Festival of Trees and UPARC Foundation
Established in 1984, the Festival of Trees has raised more than $1 million and welcomed more than 10,000 people each year to become the traditional opening of the holiday season in Tampa Bay.
UPARC is a not-for-profit corporation that demonstrates excellence in providing services for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Founded in 1958, UPARC operates residential group homes and adult day services in Clearwater, Tarpon Springs and a unique art studio in Safety Harbor. People served by UPARC range from having mild to moderate developmental disabilities to severe, profound disabilities, such as autism, Prader-Willi Syndrome and dually diagnosed behavioral intensive disorders.
About AmeriLife
AmeriLife is the nation’s premier insurance marketing group. Founded in 1971, AmeriLife represents more than 30 national insurance carriers, has 15 individual national marketing organizations, 33 career agency branch locations and works with thousands of independent insurance agents across the country.
For additional information about UPARC Foundation or Festival of Trees, please call Jessica Petot or Madison Hauenstein at 727-797-8712 or email Info(at)UPARCFoundation(dot)org. For more information about AmeriLife or its involvement with UPARC and the Festival of Trees, please email Media(at)AmeriLife(dot)com.
Kelly Atkinson, AmeriLife, http://www.amerilife.com, +1 727-726-0726 Ext: 72662, [email protected]
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