Two banners made in Port Angeles will escort the 2006 U. S. Capitol Christmas Tree as it travels across the state and nation on its way to Washington, D.C.
The 65-foot Pacific silver fir will stop for hour-long visits in Quilcene on Monday and Port Angeles and Forks on Tuesday.
The banners, 5 feet by 70 feet, will span either side of a 90-foot trailer carrying the tree.
ASM Signs, 1327 E. First St., Port Angeles, worked for more than a month to create the banners that will travel all the way to the Capitol.
ASM owner Mike Millar said the company got the bid for the banners because they’re local.
“They wanted a Peninsula business doing Peninsula work,” he said.
“It’s been a wonderful challenge to be involved in.”
The tree will be cut down today in the Olympic National Forest in Gray’s Harbor County at 1:30 p.m.
For the first time, a Washington tree will be the Capitol Christmas tree on the west lawn of Capitol Hill, facing the Washington Monument.
The tree will be decorated with 10,000 lights and more than 3,000 ornaments made by Washington state students.
But before it gets dressed up and lighted on Dec. 6 by Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, the tree will take a tour of the state and then make its more than 2,000-mile trip to Washington, D.C.
Quilcene
The tree will arrive in Quilcene at 3:15 p.m. Monday at the Quilcene Community Center, 294952 U.S. Highway 101.
The public can view the tree for about an hour.
The Brinnon Fire Department will escort the tree into Quilcene.
Pat Rodgers, a Jefferson County commissioner, and Dean Yoshina, Hood Canal District ranger for Olympic National Forest, will make short speeches.
The tree will then spend the night outside Port Angeles at a location kept secret for security purposes.
“A law enforcement official will be sleeping with the tree,” said Allen Gibbs, a public affairs officer for the Forest Service.
The tree will not stop in either in Port Townsend or Sequim.
Port Angeles
On Tuesday, the public can view the tree from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. in downtown Port Angeles.
The tree will be parked next to the Vern Burton Community Center on Fourth Street, between Peabody and Lincoln streets.
Port Angeles Mayor Karen Rogers and City Council members will unveil the tree.
Fifth graders from Jefferson Elementary School and the choir from Roosevelt Middle School will each sing for 20 minutes.
The Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce will provide hot chocolate and coffee as well as the chance to sit with Santa.
The event’s sponsor, The Lavender Connection of Sequim, will display a booth of its products, which will be available for purchase.
Forks
The tree will arrive at the Forks Transit Center at 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
The transit center is located at 551 S. Forks Ave., Forks.
Forks Police Chief Mike Powell will meet the tree when it arrives in town and escort it to the center.
Pat Soderlind, events coordinator for Forks, is working with the Forks Chamber of Commerce on the tree’s visit.
“It’s a kid’s event,” she said of the hour-long viewing.
About 30 children from the Quileute Tribal School in LaPush will sing songs and perform a tribal dance.
Soderlind says the dance is a way to bless the tree so it has a safe journey to the Capitol.
Preschoolers from the Sunshine and Rainbows daycare in Forks will also attend.
