The magic of the season

For the past 36 years, the community dresses up for the Visalia Christmas Tree Auction to support nonprofits around Tulare County.

"Our goal is to raise the bar and to create an atmosphere in this gala situation to give these charities the best platform to make the most amount of money," said Gail Zurek, Visalia Chamber CEO.

A total of 17 large, elaborately decorated trees for the live auction and 16 small trees and wreaths for the silent auction provided a way for local nonprofits to benefit all in one place, Zurek said.

"For many of these charities, this is an opportunity for them to reach their year end goal to have their missions fulfilled and really impact Visalia," Zurek said.

Nearly 1,200 people attended Friday's White Christmas event at the Convention Center.

"It really is a fun event," Zurek said. "It's our 36th year and it's hard to keep reinventing the wheel, but, I think we keep finding new ways."

Check in next week for a full story on the impact the event makes in the community.