Her cancer treatment failed. Now, she is the face of this year's Festival of Trees

SALT LAKE CITY — When Livie Smart was 14 years old, she was diagnosed with leukemia. She was put on a treatment of chemotherapy pills, but after about 10 months, her treatment failed. It was then that her doctors decided they should do a bone marrow transplant.

Around the same time that Livie was diagnosed, a college student on the other side of the country attended a football game and saw a booth where she could swab her saliva and register to be on the bone marrow donor list.

Months later, the student learned she was a match for someone who needed a bone marrow transplant. After saying yes, she was flown to Chicago to have her blood drawn for the donation. The college student was Livie's donor.

"So football does save lives," said Livie's father, Tony Smart.

Livie was the first patient to receive her transplant through a cutting-edge technique called alpha/beta T-cell depletion. Two years later, Livie is now in remission and is living life without having to take any medications for her cancer.

Tony Smart said the treatment allowed his daughter to be normal again and she "was able to just give her a life, almost like a factory reset."

This year, Livie is serving as the patient champion for the Festival of Trees, which will take place Wednesday through Friday at the Mountain America Expo Center in Sandy.

During the Festival of Trees, now in its 55th year, the large, open and industrial expo space is filled with light, warmth, cheer and the spirit of the holiday season.

All of the proceeds from the festival go directly to Primary Children's Hospital to help more kids like Livie.

According to Dana Hussey, a volunteer co-chair for the annual event, the patient champion serves as the face of the festival.

"We chose her to be a face of the festival because of the experience she had," Hussey said. "Also, because she was the first person at Primary Children's to receive the treatment that she got. So she's sort of a pioneer in that way."

Patient champion advocates for bone marrow donation

On Tuesday, Livie and her parents visited the expo center as volunteers finished putting together the event ahead of Wednesday's public opening.

Livie was first presented with a set of two trees that were designed in her honor, along with a basket of some of Livie's favorite things. The whole package will be auctioned off as part of the event.

Right across from her trees, visitors will find a new addition to the festival. A new booth inspired by Livie will allow people to register to be a bone marrow donor through the National Marrow Donor Program.

The national donor program finds matches for people in need of bone marrow transplants that can help save people with a variety of diseases, such as leukemia. It was through the program that Livie's donor was found.

"She was able to save my life and I didn't even know she existed," she said. "The fact that she was able to save my life just means so much to me and I just want to give it back to potentially help other people."

Potential donors need to sign up in order to be matched with someone in need. "It's really quick and easy, and if you're a match for someone, it's just a simple peripheral blood draw most of the time. And it's probably one of the easiest ways to save somebody's life," Livie said.

People ages 18 to 35 attending the event will be able to swab their saliva, register to be on the list and potentially become a donor for someone like Livie someday.

"It was out of our control, and so we just feel like we're one of the lucky ones that actually found a match," Tony Smart said, emphasizing how important the national donor program was to them. "We have a lot of great medicines, but we can't duplicate the stem cell. It's completely just a generous donation from a stranger."

The Smart family talked about how important it is for them to be able to pay it forward with this booth and potentially help other people in need find donors.

What people can expect from the Festival of Trees this year

This week, the entire expo center is filled with Christmas trees covered in twinkling lights and fun decorations, intricately designed gingerbread houses and colorful quilts, all made by people from Utah and neighboring states.

"We have something for everyone at the Festival of Trees," Hussey said. "When you walk in the hall, you're gonna see all these beautiful lights, and you're gonna smell scones and cinnamon rolls baking the whole time. It's a wonderful place to be at Christmastime."

The trees take up the largest portion of the space, with aisle after aisle filled with trees of varying sizes, each designed in a unique way.

Many of the trees are dedicated to children who have died. Others are from people with a connection to Primary Children's. And they are all up for auction.

Other items up for auction at the festival are the gingerbread houses, wreaths, quilts, collectibles and other decorations.

Festival of Trees 2025 event information

Here's a look at the dates and times the Festival of Trees will be open this year:

• Wednesday, Dec. 3: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
• Thursday, Dec. 4: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
• Friday, Dec. 5: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
• Saturday, Dec. 6: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

General admission tickets cost $10 for adults and $7 for children ages 2 to 11. Kids under the age of 2 are free and senior tickets for those 65 and older cost $8.

The event also offers a family discount, so two adults and four children can get in for $40.

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