Over $7,000 was raised at the second Festival of Tiny Trees Dec. 1 at the La Conner Regional Library. That includes donations received against a $10,000 matching gift announced Friday evening.“Cozy” was the ambience as 70 guests filled the library to bid on a silent auction of 21 trees, 18 inches tall, designed and decorated by a gaggle of individuals, businesses and organizations.

Tree themes offered something for everyone, from traditional Jingle Bells to Betty Boop. A Beachy Blues Christmas tree featured 10 fresh crab. Themes included Puppy Love Christmas, Go Hawks, Peppermint Patty and Ugly Christmas Sweater Time.

After a weeklong preview that included a chance to vote for your favorite tree, the People’s Choice Award went to Rebecca Strong of Ruby Sue’s Tea Shop for her Tree of Knowledge Treasures. Her design featured 24 matchboxes of library topics filled with treasures inside each tiny box. The tree base was made of books fanned out in a circle around the tree. A suggested use is as an Advent tree.

In addition to raffle baskets, six handcrafted wreaths made by local resident Kathleen Wadland were available; two remain for sale at the library.

“The creativity and generosity of our community in support of the library is really heartfelt as the holiday season gets underway,” said Susan Macek, La Conner Library Foundation director. “I heard from several of the designers how much they enjoyed working on their trees, on such a small scale. Hosting this event in our tiny library makes a strong case for why we need a new one. Our goal is for everyone to have a good time, but if it feels a little uncomfortable in here, it’s for a good reason. The current space is at capacity.”

Friends of the Library sponsored the event with in kind support from LithTex Printing and Christianson’s Nursery. Random Acts of Food catered.

For more information about the matching gift opportunity, contact Macek at the library.

The campaign for a new library needs to raise an additional $1.8 million over the next two years.