Surprise! LOVE Park’s “Flying Saucer” Is Home to Philly-Themed Trees for a Good Cause

The Festival of Trees in LOVE Park / Photography by Laura Swartz

Christmas Village is in full swing at LOVE Park. There’s plenty of shopping and food … but where’s Santa? Regular visitors of the annual holiday market know that he usually has a little hut for kids to visit, drop off letters and pose for photos. But he’s conspicuously absent this year. Well, folks, this is the hard-hitting news I live for, so I went looking. And what I found will astonish: Santa is in a UFO.

Well, kind of. Let’s start this over.

You know that “flying saucer” building in LOVE Park? It used to be a visitor center. There was talk of it becoming a restaurant for a while. But that didn’t work out. And so the iconic Roy Larsen-designed building — property editor Sandy Smith would probably like me to point out it’s one of the last great examples of Googie architecture — has sat vacant for some time.

But when I walked by last night, I saw trees inside. And lights!

And that’s because it will be home to a brand-new holiday attraction this season. The Festival of Trees will open on Wednesday, November 29th and feature over a dozen unique trees created by local organizations, artists, designers and volunteers. As for themes? Well, the sponsors include the Eagles, SEPTA, Wawa, Rita’s, and the Philadelphia Union, so the themes range from the sublime to the ridiculous. Dietz & Watson’s tree is bedecked with meats and cheese.

While the Union showcased their stars, with Julián Carranza getting extra-special treatment, tied with a Union-scarf bow.

In addition to the Union, Philly teams get attention with the Eagles tree as well as another Philly-sports-themed tree designed by a sponsor bank.

SEPTA’s tree has little buses, obviously. And Wawa’s has tiny coffee cups.

And while there’s plenty of whimsy here, CHOP’s tree drives home what this whole thing is really about, covered with drawings by patients. One hundred percent of proceeds from the Festival of Trees benefits the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Money raised will help provide health-care resources to members of the community, fund critical research, and help ease the financial burden on patient families.

While admission is free, you’ve got to donate to CHOP in order to vote for your favorite tree. Here’s how it works. Donate whatever you wish and get a snowflake token. Then, cast your vote in a ballot box in front of your favorite tree. (You can use cash, credit or Apple/Samsung Pay.)  Top trees will compete for Best of Show and People’s Choice. While no donation is too small, if you donate $10 or more, you get free hot chocolate at Christmas Village.

Santa’s throne at the Festival of Trees

While you’re there, you can also craft some DIY gift tags. And if you’re there on a weekend, you can visit and take holiday photos with Santa — he’ll be there Fridays through Sundays through December 24th.

“This is a wonderful opportunity to bring new life to the Southwest Corner of LOVE Park and activate the Welcome Center, while we raise money for such an important community cause, says Christmas Village in Philadelphia CEO and president Thomas Bauer. This will be the first activation of the building since LOVE Park renovations were completed in 2018.

The Festival of Trees will be open from noon to 7 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays, and till 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. It will open on November 29th at 5 p.m. with a ribbon cutting, then run through December 24th.