A swarm of brightly colored snowsuits rushed the steps at the statehouse lawn Wednesday evening when Gov. Phil Scott asked for help flipping the switch to light up this year’s tree in Montpelier.
After going without the tree lighting tradition in 2020, Scott dedicated this year’s tree to the state’s first responders who he said have kept Vermonters safe. Scott said that while he feels that the media highlights the bad in the world, he sees more good, focusing on the positives that came out of the pandemic’s challenges.
“I believe there’s more good than bad, especially here in Vermont where we have so much to be grateful for,” Scott said.
For the first time in history, the tree came from the same farm two years in a row. The 45-foot balsam fir came from Wallingford Family Farm, which has been farming trees for three generations over more than 50 years.
Members of the Wallingford family were presented with certificates for supporting the Christmas tree lighting, which Scott and Jennifer Fitch, the Department of Buildings and General Services’ commissioner, called their favorite event of the year.
Even though there was no ceremony last year, Fitch said that seeing the tree lit up marks the holiday season for her but admitted that the single string of multicolored lights was not enough.
“We did order more lights, but they’re stuck in shipping,” Fitch said. “Next year, we will have more lights.”
The Department of Buildings and General Services was not just in charge of lights. Musicians who work for the department, who call themselves the BGS Family Band, led the crowd in carols, kicking things off with “Let It Snow,” as the flurries fell around the crowd.
