This weekend, the usual smells of the Agricultural Arena will be replaced with more pleasant odors.

The State College Area Family YMCA is presenting the 12th annual Festival of Trees this weekend, and the smell of pine trees has already begun to fill the air.

This year, more than 78 trees were brought into the arena, turning the area that usually features equestrian and cattle shows into an evergreen forest.

"It's such a great community event; people look forward to it," Jennifer Corman, the event coordinator for the YMCA, said.

Corman said members of the State College High Wild Dream Team and the Penn State Forestry Club, along with many other volunteers, are an integral part of the continued success of the annual event.

The event also features entertainment throughout the weekend in the far end of the arena as well as visits from Santa and crafts for kids.

The trees are decorated with various themes, such as a tree featuring tiny sweaters and scarves decorated by the Nittany Knitters. Visitors can vote on their favorite tree by giving a monetary donation to benefit the YMCA Strong Kids Campaign, Corman said.

One tree, sponsored by Clay and Melanie Phillips, of State College, is tied with napkins to represent their eighth anniversary, an anniversary traditionally gifted with linens.

"We started dating here," Melanie said, "and it's been wedded bliss ever since."

The couple was actually married in the arena at the Festival of Trees event in 1998, even though they didn't realize at the time that it was against university policy.

"The only place you can get married on campus is Eisenhower Chapel," Clay said.

The event has since recognized this mistake, and the previous coordinator had to attend a seminar on university policy.

Each year since then, the couple has decorated the tree using the traditional anniversary gifts.

"I've kept a sampling of all the ornaments so we can do a collage for our 10th anniversary," Melanie said.

The Centre Area Transportation Authority (CATA) also has a tree, featuring its recognizable buses.

"We've been doing this for at least the past 10 years," Jackie Sheader, marketing manager for CATA, said.

Finding other decorations to match the tiny bus ornaments is difficult, though.

"You wouldn't believe how hard it is to find orange things," Sheader said.

Area children's groups, including preschools and scout groups, are well represented.

"One of the other teachers and I decided to do a Halloween theme and be different from everyone else," said Alexis Pino, teacher at the Easter Seals Child Development Center. "We're coming this Friday afternoon [with the students] to see the tree."