Holiday tree arrives at Capitol on Monday

The state’s holiday tree, the evergreen that adorns the Capitol Rotunda each December, will arrive on the Capitol Campus about 9:30 a.m. Monday.

The public tree-lighting ceremony, sponsored by the Association of Washington Business, is scheduled for 6 p.m. Friday in the Rotunda.

Black Lake Christmas Trees of Olympia is donating this year’s tree, a nearly 25-foot noble fir. The tree will be adorned with 5,000 LED lights and decorations. The tree’s lower branches will hold stuffed characters, which will be donated to Seattle Children’s Hospital when the tree is taken down.

For 27 years, AWB has sponsored the Holiday Kids’ Tree Project, in which members and citizens provide donations. This year, more than 130 members and businesses raised nearly $24,000, which will be distributed to 18 fire districts in Chelan, Grant, Grays Harbor, Lewis, Mason, Okanagan, Spokane, Thurston and Walla Walla counties to buy toys and food for needy families.

This year’s theme is “Heroes Near and Far” and two Okanogan County firefighters and their families will help light the tree. Both firefighters were part of the teams that responded to the state’s largest-recorded wildfire this summer.

This story was originally published November 26, 2015 at 1:01 PM with the headline "Holiday tree arrives at Capitol on Monday."