The 2011 Festival of Trees is November 22- December 1, 2011 at The Mill Casino. This annual event brings together local businesses, organizations and individuals to help families in need while demonstrating their holiday-decorating talents.
Many of you are familiar with our Festival of Trees logo (pictured on the right) but you probably don’t know the story behind it. If you look closely, you will see a series of paw prints in the sand.
Robert Jackson, Mill Casino graphic design extraordinaire, recently shared his story of this photo and I was so moved by his candor, I wanted to share it with you as well. Enjoy!
Remembering Biscuit -By Robert Jackson
The photo that we used in The Festival of Trees logo was the very first project I worked on for The Mill Casino. We’d only been in town for two days, and I took my wife Janet and our 7-month old puppy, Biscuit, out to the beach just before sunset. You can see Biscuit’s paw prints in the photo. I was so afraid he was going to jump right in the middle of the project before I got the picture taken.
We originally took Biscuit as a “foster dog,” to keep him until he was old enough to get his shots (a requirement before adoption), but we ended up being the ones who adopted him. Our experience with fostering dogs later helped us with the courage to become foster parents, where again, Biscuit (and our previous rescue, who also died this summer) became a great asset in helping kids through periods of personal turmoil. Biscuit may not have known it, but he became one of the ones doing the rescuing.
That’s what the Festival of Trees is about — reaching out to families who can use a lift. And when you help someone, sometimes it gives them the opportunity to help someone else. Even something non-essential at face value, such as a donated holiday tree, may give a family a little bright spot.
Donated trees aren’t the only way the Festival of Trees extends help to families. As an employee of The Mill, it’s important to me that we make gestures such as sponsoring the Festival of Trees, our holiday canned food drive slot tournament, and so many other good works throughout the year. Maybe, just maybe, someone who gets a lift from The Mill will be able to turn around and do something good for someone else. We’re all connected that way.
Biscuit passed a couple of months ago and I miss him. It’s warming to think that his paw prints have been a key part of this fundraiser for a ninth time. I don’t look at the Festival of Trees poster and see symbolism in Biscuit’s paw prints. He was just my happy boy, and that’s a memory of a happy day. But if he’s been part of something that helps more kids – more families – that would certainly be fitting.
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