Christmas time in the city: State tree in place
LANSING – Crews installed Michigan's official Christmas tree Saturday at the Capitol, marking the start of the holiday season in the Great Lakes State.
The 63-foot blue spruce tree, harvested Thursday in Kingsford in the Upper Peninsula, arrived via a large slot-bed trailer Friday just as first snow flakes of blew through the Lansing area in a blustery preview of winter.
As in past years, the tree was secured in a large cement hole fronting Capitol Avenue. Large pieces of wood were put in place to keep the tree as straight as possible throughout the holiday season, said Lauren Leeds,spokeswoman for the state Department of Technology Management and Budget.
Crews wills string nearly 9,000 lights to the tree from cherry pickers early next week, Leeds said. A tree lighting ceremony is set for Nov. 21.
Michigan's 29th official Christmas tree will be extra bright this year: An additional 4,000 lights will be strung to mark the 30th Silver Bells in the City celebration.
"It's a process that will start this week. It's a very slow gradual process," Leeds said.
The tree has its own tricky road trip. As much as 8 inches of snow was expected to drop on Kingsford on Friday as the tree made its way south. Then, the large trailer had to wait for a Mackinac Bridge Authority escort Friday to safely cross the wet, snowy bridge.
"It was very possible that we could have not crossed the bridge just because the wind gusts and everything," Leeds said.
The unveiling of the state Christmas tree was on track, regardless of when it crossed the Mackinac Bridge, however, she said. The tree was harvested a week earlier than in past years to allow enough time to string the additional 4,000 lights.
The tree lighting ceremony later this month will coincide with a fireworks show following the Electric Light Parade.
Silver Bells in the City
Visit http://www.silverbellsinthecity.org or call 487-3322 to learn more about Silver Bells in the City. The Christmas celebration includes a tree-lighting ceremony, fireworks show over the Capitol dome and the Electric Light Parade.