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Crapo to select Tree Lighting Helper |
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September 11, 2016 |
Through a statewide contest, one Idaho youth
will be selected by Idaho Senator Mike Crapo to
assist in turning on the power to light the U.S.
Capitol Christmas Tree in December. Tradition
holds that one youth from the state providing
the tree serve as the Tree Lighting Helper
during a ceremony to formally illuminate it
along with the Speaker of the House and other
officials.
Idaho’s Payette National Forest will provide
this year’s tree which will be placed on the
West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol and will be lit
the week of December 5.
Idaho students who would like to participate in
the contest to be selected as the Tree Lighting
Helper are invited to submit an entry.
The multimedia contest, which keeps the theme of
the Capitol Christmas Tree, “An Idaho Mountain
Gem,” is open to Idaho students in grades 1
through 6 and is running through September 30.
The entry must be original and capture the theme
of this year’s celebration while also
highlighting the importance of our national
forests.
Submissions may be any form of multimedia such
as an essay or poem of up to 100 words, a
two-minute song or video, or an original piece
of artwork such as a drawing, painting,
photograph, ornament, sculpture or 3-D object.
Specific rules and entry forms are available at
the Capitol Christmas Tree website. All
submissions will be reviewed, and the Tree
Lighting Helper will be selected at random from
the entries. The selected student will be flown
to Washington, D.C., to join the lighting
ceremony on the lawn of the US Capitol.
“This is an exciting opportunity for Idaho youth
to be part of lighting the Capitol Christmas
Tree that will be cut from Idaho’s own Payette
National Forest,” said Crapo. “This contest will
challenge Idaho’s youth to express their
creativity in how they capture and convey the
spirit of this year’s theme and the important
role of our national forests. I look forward to
seeing the submissions.”
“It’s such an honor to have this year’s Capitol
Christmas Tree come from Idaho’s Payette
National Forest,” said Senator Jim Risch, a
graduate of the University of Idaho's College of
Forestry. “This contest provides a unique
opportunity for our state’s students to foster
their creativity. I look forward to seeing a
piece of Idaho in Washington, D.C., this
Christmas season.”
Additional details on the contest as well as how
to submit entries may be found at
www.capitolchristmastree.com under the
“contest” tab. Taxpayer funds are not used to
fly the winner to Washington. |
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