Covington's Festival of Trees is back, and residents once again are able to bid on a variety of pre-decorated Christmas trees courtesy of area nonprofits and businesses.

There are also lots of other Christmas decorations as well as gift baskets and certificates available through a raffle; all proceeds will go to the Miracle League in Newton County, which is currently constructing a special needs baseball complex at City Pond Road. The trees and decorations will be at the former Mayfield's Hardware location on the square.

The event kicked off Nov. 15. The dates left to view and bid items are as follows:

• Nov. 23, 5 to 8 p.m.

• Nov. 24, 1 to 6 p.m.

• Nov. 29 and 30,

5 to 8 p.m.
• Dec. 1, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The winners will be announced at 2 p.m. Dec. 1. For more information about the event, contact Conner at festivaloftrees.newton@gmail.com or (678) 459-7752.

The idea for the festival came from Fava Tanner, an administrative assistant at First Baptist Church, who brought the idea with her from Cartersville, which has a large annual festival of trees.

For more information about the Optimist Club, contact President Anita Still at anitastill@bellsouth.net. The club was chartered Sept. 27. Optimist International is a service organization that focuses on "Bringing Out the Best in Kids" through community projects and by promoting upbeat attitudes.