Right in time for the holidays, the 3rd annual Festive Forest will light up Miller Park with a dazzling display of over 120 live Fraser Firs, all decorated by local organizations and businesses.
The event begins on Wednesday, November 26th, and spans until January 1st, 2026.
The free event is hosted by the Better Business Bureau (BBB), the Electric Power Board, and Chattanooga Parks & Outdoors. Once in the park, each tree will have its own theme and decor, with incredibly imaginative decorations.
This year, they have expanded on previous years, both in the number of festivities offered and the number of trees being decorated. There will even be a contest for the public where one can vote for their top three favorite trees.
On December 20th, Chattanooga's Parks & Outdoors team will be hosting a special event to draw residents to the festivities. There is also a mention that Santa Claus himself may pay a visit, and a local temple will be displaying a lighted menorah in celebration of Chanukah.
When talking with the Director of Events at the BBB, Will Hannah, about the entire experience, they mentioned that the goal is ultimately to give back and shine a spotlight on the community.
“Our goal has been to build a sparkling display for our community to enjoy during the holidays, while simultaneously 'shining a light on trust in our community.” That’s our tagline, as BBB’s mission is to promote trust in our marketplace. We ask that each tree participating sponsor meet BBB’s Standards of Trust.
It’s been exciting to see Festive Forest grow by 50% each year, bringing us to 120 trees in 2025. We enjoy being able to offer local, worthy organizations the opportunity to be a part of a holiday event that offers something so special for our community.”
When asked about how the 120-plus trees are decorated, Will suggested that they all work together to set the organization up for success.
“Each tree sponsor creates their own theme and decorates their own tree. EPB has built and arranged all of the tree platforms, and BBB works with the sponsors during a five-day setup period to be out in the park creating their magical displays.”
One of the more profound things about this year’s event is that BBB and Local 3 News are partnering together to host a Memorial Tree, where acrylic ornaments and markers will be provided for attendees to create a message to honor a loved one. They’ll then be hung on a tree, or you can bring your own, and they’ll hang it for you.
When asked about future plans to expand this annual holiday tradition, Will mentioned that they have plans to possibly build a more extensive corridor throughout downtown Chattanooga.
“Yes. Huntsville’s Tinsel Trail has actually grown during the past dozen years to 400 trees and has a waiting list. Our event has expanded quickly as well, so we’ll be evaluating how much more we can expand into Miller Park. From there, we’ll see how we can continue to partner together, and possibly with other organizations, to build a more extensive corridor throughout downtown Chattanooga.”
Festive Forest
- Recurring Daily
- November 26-January 1, 2026
- Free
- Miller Park. 928 Market St.
- festiveforest.org