The State Capitol has a lot of halls to deck this holiday season.
Thanksgiving is over and the Capitol menorah has been up and glowing on the upper west lawn since sunset Wednesday. Inside, crews are preparing for the arrival of no fewer than three Christmas trees.
The largest, the one that will tower over the rotunda, will arrive this week from Bork Tree Farms in Hinckley. Teams of volunteers will be on hand to decorate the tree, spooling yards of ribbons up and around the evergreen for 20 feet or more.
"Even with the highest ladder, we can barely get the bow on top," said Jessica Miles, spokeswoman for the Minnesota Department of Agriculture's Minnesota Grown program, which coordinates the holiday cheer.
Two other trees arrive Tuesday, bound for the governor's reception room and the lobby of the attorney general's office across the hall.
Providing those trees is the job of each year's grand champion Christmas tree from the Minnesota State Fair. This year, for the third year in a row, the trees will be coming from Happy Land Tree Farms in Sandstone.
Happy Land, run by brothers Ken and Phil Olson, operates three tree lots around the Twin Cities area, as well as its cut-your-own farm in Sandstone. The business, started by a teenage Ken Olson, now draws the generations back to pick out their holiday trees.
"We have so many customers who come back year after year," said company spokeswoman Jo Olson. "It's a family tradition to go out, bring the kids, pick out the tree."