Department of Enterprise Services employees carry the Holiday Tree to the Rotunda. (Photos courtesy of Samantha Sunderland)

The rich scent of evergreen in the Capitol can only mean one thing: the state Holiday Tree is here!

The giant conifer that now stands tall in the Legislative Building Rotunda arrived on the Capitol Campus early Monday morning.

This year’s tree, a nearly 25-foot-tall noble fir, was donated by Port Blakely Tree Farms near Morton is east Lewis County.

Lights and decoraations are put on the tree.

The tree was decorated with 5,000 LED lights and ornaments. The lower branches will hold stuffed animals, which will be donated to Seattle Children’s Hospital.

The annual public tree lighting ceremony, sponsored by the Association of Washington Business (AWB), is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Dec. 6 in the Rotunda.

Prior to the tree lighting, Gov. Jay Inslee will present donor checks from the AWB Holiday Kids’ Tree Project to rural fire districts in the State Reception Room.

For 25 years, AWB has sponsored the Holiday Kids’ Tree Project. Association members and citizens provide donations used to purchase toys and food that are distributed to needy families in rural parts of the state by firefighters from Grays Harbor, Lewis, Mason, Thurston, Grant, Walla Walla and Spokane counties.

The Holiday Tree, all decorated and ready for the Dec. 6 lighting ceremony.