The Festival of Trees returns to Sandy for its 56th year, bringing roughly 550 donated and decorated holiday trees and half a million lights to the Mountain America Expo Center, as reported by KUTV. Intermountain Health lists the event dates as December 2 through December 5, 2026, with an invite-only opening night the evening before. KUTV reports that every dollar raised supports children receiving treatment at Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital.
Many of the trees carry a theme or tell the story of a current or former patient at the hospital, according to the event's seed coverage from KUTV. One of those patients is 12-year-old Edison, who was born with Apert syndrome, a rare genetic condition that affects the growth of the skull, face, hands and other joints. He was transferred to the Primary Children's Hospital neonatal intensive care unit shortly after birth when his oxygen levels dropped, and he's undergone nearly three dozen surgeries since infancy, including procedures to protect his brain, reconstruct his skull and face, and improve his vision and hand use.
KUTV reports that Edison continues to receive speech and physical therapy and enjoys playing, watching and talking about sports. Julie Walker also joined the station’s Fresh Living segment to discuss this year’s festival on behalf of the effort.
What's Actually Happening at the Expo Center
Organizers say the festival features handcrafted holiday trees, wreaths, nativities, gingerbread houses and quilts for sale and in a silent auction, alongside scones, live music and dance performances, visits with Santa Claus, and fudge — volunteers have reportedly donated 5,000 pounds of it over the years. A separate Elf Emporium and Gift Boutique will also offer seasonal items for sale on the event's website.
The silent auction portion — trees, wreaths, gingerbread houses, handmade quilts, playhouses, nativities, centerpieces and more — will be available online at festivaloftreesutah.org starting at 4:30 p.m. on December 1, 2026, and running until 9 p.m., according to KUTV's reporting.
A Volunteer Army Behind the Scenes
The event relies on a large volunteer effort. According to Intermountain Health, more than 3,000 volunteers help stage the festival, which draws over 80,000 attendees in a week. The Intermountain Foundation presents the event, and a dedicated 87-member volunteer board helps steer it, the health system’s news site noted when announcing last year’s festival. Volunteers come from across Utah and neighboring states.
Intermountain Health says donations benefit Primary Children’s Hospital. Funds support care for patients in need and help expand care options, according to the health system’s announcement for the 2025 festival.
Primary Children’s Care Beyond the Festival
Intermountain Health says its second Primary Children’s campus, the Miller Family Campus in Lehi, opened for patient care on February 12, 2024. The cited announcement identifies it as a second campus but does not specify added service lines or capacity. Separately, Intermountain’s 2025 Community Health Needs Assessment for Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City says the hospital treats more than 80,000 children each year and is committed to providing care regardless of ability to pay; the assessment does not provide a specific charity-care or financial-assistance figure.
Millions Raised, Year After Year
The fundraising numbers have been substantial. Intermountain reported that the 2024 Festival of Trees raised $3.4 million to support patient care at Primary Children's Hospital, with that year's event hosting 82,000 attendees over four days, according to the health system's sponsorship materials. The Utah Hospital Association has said the festival typically raises more than $3 million annually for the hospital, and the 2025 festival raised over $3.3 million to support patients and expand care options, per a report from KUTV.
Last year's festival ran December 3 through 6, with opening night on December 2, also at the Mountain America Expo Center, and featured 550 handcrafted trees twinkling with a half-million lights, per Intermountain's own announcement. This year's dates shift slightly earlier, but the format — trees, auctions, volunteers and a steady flow of visitors through the Expo Center doors — stays largely the same.
