by Jesse Bethea
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — In what has become a seasonal tradition at the state capitol, teams of decorators were at the Statehouse on the day after Thanksgiving, installing Christmas trees, ornaments and holiday lights.
For almost a decade, decorators from Oakland Nurseries have had the honor of putting up the Statehouse Christmas trees.
“This is the people’s house! It’s our opportunity to share our skills and our talents with the people of the state of Ohio,” Oakland Nurseries COO and Oakland Green Interiors Director, Genevieve Mills said. “It’s sort of an all-hands on deck opportunity to really beautify this special, historic building, and it’s a great honor and privilege to be here.”
The largest of the Statehouse trees is featured in the Atrium, standing 25 feet tall and built on a steel frame. The tree is typically decorated in a Victorian style, with some new adornments this year.
“For the first five or six years, there was one specific design, and this year the Statehouse wanted a refresh of it,” Mills said. “So we took off some of the ornaments that were sort of aged out and maybe a little rough and decided to freshen it up. So the gold stars and bells on the tree are new, as well as some of the bigger ornaments, and the tree topper.”
Also new this year are two 12-foot trees standing outside the House and Senate chambers, which decorators said will remain strictly bipartisan.
“They had a request that we made the trees in red and blue decor, but specifically asked that we made sure that the red and the blue were evenly balanced,” Mills said. “So we counted all of the ornaments and made sure we had the same number of red and the same number of blue on each tree, so it was perfectly equal.”
The Atrium Christmas Tree lighting will take place at the Statehouse’s annual Holiday Festival on December 4.
Original article: https://www.nbc4i.com/news/politics/ohio-statehouse-ready-for-holiday-season/
