Ornaments by young local Ellensburg artists will be displayed at President's Park near the White House in Washington, D.C. during the 2016 holiday season. The h
and crafted ornaments will adorn the Washington State tree, one of 56 trees representing each U.S. state, territory and the District of Columbia as part of the America Celebrates display, which surrounds the National Christmas Tree.
In early October, the National Park Service contacted the Washington State Arts Commission (ArtsWA) for help in choosing this year's state ornament artists. "We asked one of our grantees, Gallery One Visual Art Center, to engage students from its Community School of Arts program," said ArtsWA Executive Director Karen Hanan. "We're delighted that they accepted the challenge."
"The students were excited to decorate their home state tree and help our nation celebrate the holidays," said Becky Parmenter, Education Coordinator at Gallery One.
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| Pre-school kids designing their Christmas ornament art at Gallery One Visual Art Center's Community School of Arts. |
Inspired by the natural beauty they found while studying the state's National Parks, the students designed their own favorite scene for the ornaments. Twelve ornaments were selected by lottery to be sent to Washington D.C. The other ornaments will be displayed at Rotary Park in Downtown Ellensburg beginning December 2 during the First Friday Art Walk.
Grant and Virginia Green, son and daughter-in-law of Gallery One's founding Director, Eveleth Green, will attend the tree lighting ceremony in Washington D.C. The National Christmas Tree Lighting will be televised on Hallmark Channel on Monday, December 5 at 7 p.m. ET/PT.
Presented by the National Park Service and National Park Foundation, the National Christmas Tree Lighting is one of America's oldest holiday traditions. The first National Christmas Tree Lighting took place on Christmas Eve in 1923, when President Calvin Coolidge lit a Christmas tree in front of 3,000 spectators on the Ellipse. Since 1923, each succeeding president has carried on the tradition.
