WATERVILLE — The annual Festival of Trees has kicked off the holiday season in the city, once again drawing crowds to check out dozens of festively decorated trees and test their luck in a raffle with thousands of dollars’ worth of prizes.

The parking lot at the Waterville Elks Lodge was nearly full Saturday morning for the second day of the two-weekend-long event.

Over the six days the festival is open, organizers expect about 5,000 people to attend, said Kimberly N. Lindlof, president and CEO of the Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce and executive director of the Central Maine Growth Council.

This year’s event, presented by the Central Maine Community Betterment Collaborative, features more than 50 trees donated and decorated by area businesses, which are raffled off along with the dozens of items placed underneath each of them. 

Most of the bundles of presents for each tree are valued at several thousands of dollars. Items range from snowblowers and Lego sets to lounge chairs and children’s toys.

The proceeds from admission to the event and the raffle support the Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce’s workforce development programs and the Alfond Youth & Community Center food insecurity initiatives.

It is the biggest fundraiser of the year for the chamber, Lindlof said, although the amount raised each year varies and depends on how many tickets are sold.

“We have our hands in a lot of stuff, just trying to drive more people to this region,” Lindlof said of the chamber’s efforts. “And we want to roll out the red carpet so that they want to move here, want to vacation here, (or) want to bring their family back.”

The festival continues from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. It then reopens Nov. 28 and 29, with hours of 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Nov. 30.

Admission is $2 per person, and free for children younger than 12 years old. Tree raffle tickets are 50 cents each, and there is also a 50-50 raffle. Transactions are cash only. 

The festival, first started by the Sukeforth family, has been held in various locations over the years. Lindlof said this is the third year at the Elks Club at 76 Industrial St.

It is staffed entirely by volunteers. Lindlof said there are 300 different shifts people could sign up to work over the two weekends.

“There is a lot of coordination,” she said. 

Among other festivities, Marden’s and Sappi helped to provide 2,500 books so that every child who attended could leave with a free book. Santa Claus himself was also set to make an appearance Saturday afternoon and then again Sunday.

Morgan Willey, of Waldoboro, was at the festival Saturday with her mother, Nancy Parmenter, of Washington, and Parmenter’s friend, Shelley Couturier, of Fairfield. The three were sitting down taking a break after perusing the trees.

Parmenter and Couturier said they have been coming to the event every year for about a decade; it was Willey’s first time. Couturier said this year she put most of her tickets in for a Grinch-themed tree and one with lots of children’s toys. 

“We come here every year, and we never win,” Couturier said with a laugh.