NOTE: “Today” and “tonight” refer to Friday, Dec. 4.
SEQUIM — The city of Sequim will kick off the holiday season today during an inaugural tree lighting reception at the Sequim Civic Center.
The free public event at the center at 152 W. Cedar St., hosted by the City Arts Advisory Commission, will be from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. in conjunction with the First Friday Art Walk — a free self-guided tour of Sequim art venues conducted from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on the First Friday of every month.
The 9-foot-tall artificial holiday tree set up in the lobby is adorned with about 100 unique ornaments made by fourth-grade students living within the Sequim School District, said City Clerk Karen Kuznek-Reese.
“We thought it would be a fun thing to do to get the kids involved, and fourth-graders seem to be a good age,” she said.
“It was something the City Arts Advisory Commission decided on.”
The theme for the student-created ornaments is Nature’s Creatures on the Olympic Peninsula.
The ornaments “are really cute,” Kuznek-Reese said.
“Some are the painted, stained-glass type of ornaments. Some are made with Styrofoam balls. Some were an actual class project” for students at Greywolf Elementary School, she said.
The reception will include remarks by Mayor Candace Pratt, refreshments and a live performance by Sunshine Generation of Sequim, a children’s choral and dance group.
“People can mill around and check out the lobby at City Hall, and the artwork, and the ornaments on the tree and socialize,” Kuznek-Reese.
“It will be a lot of fun.”
Visitors “can come and go” as they please during the event, she said.
All participating students will receive photos and commemorative cards when their ornaments are returned in January.
The Civic Center was opened to the public in May.
The call for student crafted ornaments and ensuing reception are intended to be repeated each year from now on, Kuznek-Reese said.
“This is the first time we have ever done this, and we are hoping it is going to be an annual event,” she said.
“Stay tuned for next year,” which will incorporate a different theme, she said.
Kuznek-Reese said she is grateful to everyone who participated to make the inaugural event possible.
For more information about the reception, contact Kuznek-Reese at 360-681-3428 or kkuznek@sequimwa.gov.
________
Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Chris McDaniel can be reached at 360-681-2390, ext. 5052, or cmcdaniel@peninsuladailynews.com.
