Columbia, SC (WLTX) A few families from the Palmetto Heath Children's Hospital are already decking the halls for the holiday season.
In November the Hospital will host it's signature fundraiser event called "Festival of the Trees."
On Sunday The Mad Platter art studio in Columbia generously opened its doors to families with the Palmetto Health Children's Hospital where former patients of the hospital got a chance to create artwork that will be on display and up for bid during the fundraiser.
Festival of the Trees will be held from November 20 through the 22nd.
"All of them are doing well today so they are here to do different pieces of art," says Priscilla Young, department director for the Children's Hospital. "Some of them will do holiday, some will do just whatever they feel like and be creative, but it's just a really neat way for them to be able to give back to the hospital any way that they can."
Four year old Zoe and her mother Courtney Tipping are one the families who participated in Sunday's Merry Masterpiece Party.
"Zoe was diagnosed last April with what is called a Wilms Tumor," says Tipping. "It was stage four."
Tipping says Zoe had surgery at the Palmetto Health Children's Hospital to remove the tumor along with treatments and scans to make sure it doesn't come back. She says being a part of the Masterpiece Party was the least they could do to thank the hospital.
"Honestly we love to do anything with the Children's Hospital," says Tipping. "We honestly call them family."
"Over the last year we are just in any way connected with them and stuff like this is just fun and for her to know that it's associated with the Children's hospital, it's just neat."
Throughout the afternoon the kids got a chance to create anything they wanted on their canvas using all types of color. They even named their work. Zoe simply named her painting "Tent with People."
Zoe's art along with other former Children's Hospital patients will be on display at the Festival of the Trees will be held from November 20-22.
Pre-order tickets for the Festival of the Trees event will go on sale mid-October.
For more information on the Palmetto Health Foundation , check out the link here.
