DES employees carry the Holiday Kids’ Tree up the Capitol Building steps. (Photo courtesy Patrick McDonald)

The Holiday Kids’ Tree is in the building.

A large crew of Department of Enterprise workers Tuesday morning carried the 25-foot Noble fir up the north steps of the Capitol, squeezed it through the doors and hauled it up the marble steps to the Rotunda, where it was erected. Tree decorating continued Wednesday morning.

After hauling the tree up the steps, workers navigate between the pillars. (Photo courtesy Patrick McDonald) 

The tree is the star attraction for this Friday’s 28th Annual Holiday Tree lighting ceremony. The event begins at 6 p.m. Gov. Jay Inslee will light the tree with help from Naval Base Kitsap Chief Petty Officer Maungwai Soe, his wife Yamin, and their two children, Heidi, 5, and Hunter, 15 months.

The event is sponsored by the Association of Washington Business.

The tree, donated by Weyerhaeuser’s Vail-area tree farm, will be decorated with 5,000 LED lights and festive traditional decorations, along with stuffed characters representing this year’s theme of “Under the Sea,” which will be donated to children’s hospitals when the tree comes down Dec. 30.

A DES employee decorates the tree Wednesday morning. (Photo courtesy Brian Zylstra)