Hotel seeks artists to create highly fashionable trees for annual holiday tradition
Lord Baltimore Hotel is bringing back its annual Couture Tree Competition this holiday season and is currently seeking decorative designs from businesses, nonprofits and individual artists across Baltimore and beyond. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and Lord Baltimore’s partnership with Baltimore City, serving as its Triage, Respite and Isolation (TRI) Center, voting for this year’s Couture Tree Competition will once again take place virtually. As with last year, selected designers will have the option of being featured in area window displays.
Those interested in participating in the competition must submit an original design sketch to ljohnson@lordbaltimorehotel.com for consideration by November 5, 2021. The top designs will be selected by the Hotel’s internal jury to participate in the final competition.
Selected participants will then decorate the trees at the location of their choice or the designated storefront and will submit a photo that will be “on display” on the Hotel’s Facebook page. The general public will have the opportunity to view all designs and vote on their top tree between December 1 and 14.
“Although we are going into another holiday season facing challenges from the pandemic, we are looking forward to celebrating the spirit of the holidays with our annual holiday tradition. We are especially looking forward to highlighting the craftmanship and creativity of the participating artists, businesses and nonprofits who continue to top themselves year after year,” said Onahlea Shimunek, general manager for the Lord Baltimore Hotel.
The designers of the winning trees – one for the tree designed by an individual or area business and one for the tree designed by a nonprofit organization – will announced on the Hotel’s social media channels on December 15, 2021. Winning designers will each receive a prize of $500.
Last year’s competition, the first in the history of the competition to feature voting from the general public and held online, featured 22 tree designs. Those designs and the designs from past competition’s can be viewed on the Hotel’s Facebook page.
About Lord Baltimore Hotel
The Lord Baltimore Hotel is located at 20 W. Baltimore Street, Baltimore, MD, 21201 in the heart of downtown Baltimore and within walking distance to many local attractions. Recognized by the Historic Hotels of America as the “Best City Center Historic Hotel” in 2014 and one of the “10 Best Historic Hotels” by USA Today in 2015, the hotel towers over the Baltimore skyline at 23 stories and offers 440 new guest rooms and suites, more than 20,000 sq. ft. of meeting and event space, and various dining options. Additionally, art plays a major role in the hotel design with more than 2,500 pieces of artwork displayed throughout the building. Originally built in 1928, the hotel was purchased in 2013 and completely renovated by Rubell Hotels. The Lord Baltimore Hotel is a member of Historic Hotels of America, the official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. More information on the hotel can be found at www.lordbaltimorehotel.com.
