Holiday tree arrives at capitol Nov. 29, lighting ceremony on Dec. 2

OLYMPIA – The state holiday tree, the evergreen that adorns the Capitol Building rotunda each year, will arrive on the Capitol Campus on Tuesday, Nov. 29, between 9:30 and 10:30 a.m.

Holiday tree selection in the forest


Holiday tree mid-harvest using a crane


Holiday tree loaded on a truck

The annual public tree lighting ceremony, sponsored by the Association of Washington Business (AWB), is scheduled for Friday, Dec. 2, at 6 p.m. in the state Capitol Building rotunda.

The Weyerhaeuser Co. is donating this year's tree – a 35-foot noble fir from the company's Vail-area farm near Rainier, Wash. The tree will trimmed further and set up in the rotunda by the Department of Enterprise Services where it will be adorned with 5,000 LED lights and festive decorations by AWB and Enterprise Services staff.

This year's theme is "Under the Sea" and the tree's lower branches will hold stuffed characters, which will be donated to Mary Bridge Children's Hospital & Health Center in Tacoma or Seattle Children's Hospital once the tree is taken down on Dec. 30. The characters will be individually wrapped with a story book that relates the story of each character and then handed out to children at the Tacoma or Seattle hospital.

Since 1989, AWB has sponsored the Holiday Kids' Tree Project, in which members and citizens provide donations. This year, 100 AWB member businesses and individuals from around the state have donated almost $20,000. The money will be distributed to 18 rural fire districts in Chelan, Grant, Grays Harbor, Lewis, Mason, Okanagan, Spokane, Thurston and Walla Walla counties to buy foods and gifts for families in their communities.

Gov. Jay Inslee will light the tree with help from Naval Base Kitsap Chief Petty Officer Maungwai Soe, his wife, Yamin Soe, and their two children, Heidi, 5, and Hunter, 15 months.

Jeff Canaan, deputy director of the Department of Enterprise Services, will welcome the public to the tree lighting ceremony.

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