“I’m picturing a fall Fourth of July,” Borough Manager Mason Villarma told staff during a planning meeting for the event.
Last week, the borough released the schedule of events surrounding the harvest of the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree, also known as “The People’s Tree.” Festivities will begin on Friday, Oct. 25, and will continue for three days over the weekend. The borough, the Nolan Center, chamber of commerce, U.S. Forest Service and many local businesses all are helping to organize the weekend’s activities.
The tree, which comes from a different national forest each year, will be cut from a secret location in the Wrangell Ranger District — the first time for the Tongass National Forest — in the first step toward its eventual display on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol.
Friday, Oct. 25, kicks off the first of three days of organized events with the opportunity for some late-night shopping. The borough is encouraging businesses to remain open late that day to help generate more downtown activity and sales. There will also be hot chocolate, hot apple cider and all sorts of cookies available to help launch the weekend. From there, KSTK will take over the night with its Halloween Bash at the Elks Lodge.
The Saturday events will be wide ranging. Matt Henson, the borough’s marketing and community development coordinator, said he wants folks to have all sorts of options. Programming will begin at 10 a.m. with the chamber’s annual Pumpkin Patch — where children can pick out their favorite pumpkin for carving — and will be followed up with an official blessing of the Christmas tree led by WCA. There will be vendors, games and activities in and around the Nolan Center throughout the day.
Saturday will be the first time the tree is visible to the public. The specific day of its harvest is kept secret, and it will be stored in a secret location until its official unveiling on Oct. 26 according to Forest Service officials.
During the celebration, the tree will sit on a 100-foot trailer on Outer Drive — right on the waterfront, between the Nolan Center and Wrangell IGA. There will be a banner hung on the trailer that everyone is encouraged to sign. It will accompany the tree during its two-week road tour to Washington, D.C.
There will also be a celebration concert at the Nolan Center from 2 to 4 p.m. on Saturday. The borough is bringing some of Henson’s musician connections from Arizona, Idaho and Colorado for the festivities. The full band, also featuring Henson, will perform that evening at Rayme’s for a Halloween bash from 9 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.
Before the bash, however, the Stikine Inn will host a special dinner menu all evening for the weekend celebrations.
Henson said Sweet Tides will cater much of the other programming for the Saturday events.
The weekend will wrap with a Christmas tree-themed walk and fun run on Oct. 27, and the Elks Lodge will be open to the public for brunch on the same day.
While Wrangell is the host for the programming, Henson wants the celebration to be an opportunity for all of Southeast.
“This is not just a Wrangell event,” he said. “It’s an Alaska event. This is an Alaska tree, and I encourage people from Petersburg and Prince of Wales Island to come over and celebrate.”
Henson also said the weekend of events will be a “proof of concept” for further community-wide celebrations. He said there’s no reason Wrangell isn’t capable of hosting a concert series in the future, and that these events can be beneficial for businesses.
“We want to spread the wealth around,” Henson said. “I want this to be as community-involved as possible. We get to have Christmas twice this year!”
Sealaska Heritage Institute is also holding an essay contest for fourth graders. The topic is: “What would you like the country to know about Alaska’s Christmas tree this year and why it is so special.”
The winner of the contest will win a free trip to Washington for the tree-lighting ceremony in November. More information can be found on the Sealaska Facebook page, but be quick; the deadline for the essay contest closes at 11:59 p.m. Friday, Oct. 4.
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