Visit Mercer County to attend U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree event

Nov. 7—BLUEFIELD — Representatives of Mercer County's tourism venues are heading to Charleston today to promote the county's Christmas festivities while seeing a West Virginia tree become the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree for the first time in 50 years.

The Mercer County CVB team will be attending the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree event today, said Jamie Null, the CVB's executive director.

"We will be taking the Visit Mercer County mobile visitor center and promoting Mercer County's Christmas activities, such as the Candy Cane Trail and West Virginia's Christmas City," Null said Monday. "We will also be taking a Christmas light display to represent the Holiday of Lights."

Null said the CVB plans to take a small version of a Holiday of Lights display that the city made for it. The full-size version is one of the Holiday of Lights' most popular displays.

"It's the outline of West Virginia with a heart on the bottom which says Almost Heaven," Null said. "We commissioned that and the city had it made for us to place in the light display."

The 27th Annual Holiday of Lights begins Nov. 23 at Lolito Park. Gates will open at 6 p.m. that evening. This year's Christmas displays at the park will feature over 1.3 million lights. The City of Bluefield is the official West Virginia Christmas City.

Another upcoming Christmas treat for Mercer County begins when the Mercer County CVB starts the second annual Visit Mercer County Candy Cane Trail, she added.

A trail of peppermints and candy canes throughout Mercer County will lead participants "to discover all sorts of holiday magic from Nov. 23- Jan. 8. For 45 days, you can experience shopping, dining and entertainment — all with a holiday spin," Null said.

Null described hone the candy cane trail work works:, first, visit www.visitmercercounty.com/candycanetrail, sign up, receive a text or email with a link to your passport. Then visit locations included in the pass and check in with your mobile phone, she said. Show your passport to partner locations to redeem savings.

Passholders, with every third check-in, can win a variety of gift cards, a gift basket and a weekend trip to any West Virginia State Park. Winners will be announced the week of Jan, 8, 2024.

"We hope locals and visitors use this passport to shop, dine and visit our attractions and entertainment venues across the county," Null said. "The passport is easy to use on your mobile device."

Last year, more than 700 southern West Virginia, Southwest Virginia residents and regional visitors signed up for the trail and checked in 1,039 times at local businesses in Mercer County, Null stated.

Mercer County is not far from Charleston, so a weekend trip would take visitors from other parts of the state to the Holiday of Lights, the Town of Bramwell's Christmas festivities and other events, Null said.

The Mercer County CVB will be among the participants celebrating the fact that at West Virginia Christmas tree is going to Washington, D.C.

Gov. Jim Justice said that the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree Send-Off festival on Kanawha Boulevard at the West Virginia State Capitol starts today at 5 p.m.

This is the first time in nearly 50 years that a West Virginia tree will be on display in the nation's capital, and a festival will be hosted at State Capitol to commemorate the honor, state officials said.

The event will kick off with a parade and will include family-friendly activities showcasing winter offerings from around the state, including ice skating and a light display on the Capitol lawn. The event is free of charge and open to the public. Free parking will be available across the Capitol Complex and shuttles will be available from Laidley Field.

"We are just so proud to have West Virginia honored at our nation's capital," Justice said. "This festival is a great opportunity to come out and try out some of the amazing things we have available in our state this time of year. It's going to be a ball, I hope you'll all join us tomorrow night on the steps of our beautiful State Capitol."

The festival will begin at 5 p.m. with the grand parade starting shortly thereafter as the tree makes its way west on Kanawha Boulevard to the Capitol steps, led in by marching bands from Cabell Midland, Scott, Herbert Hoover, Capital, George Washington, Nitro, South Charleston, and St. Albans High Schools.

Afterwards, the choir from the West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and the Blind will perform, the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree essay winner, Ethan Reese of Beverly Elementary School, will read his essay. Arden Cogar, an award-winning timbersports competitor, will also showcase a short log-cutting demonstration. Cogar helped to harvest the U.S. Capitol Christmas tree last week.

High school students at Monongalia County Technical Education Center created a commemorative ornament to mark this special occasion. The ornaments will be given to the first 250 who arrive at the festival.

Vendors from across the state will be set up along the Boulevard with fun programming for families including ice skating, cookie decorating, free hot chocolate, a letter to Santa station, extravagant light displays, fire pits to roast s'mores, winter sport giveaways, and more. The U.S. Forest Service will be present with a station for attendees to sign the banner for the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree. Food trucks from Chick-Fil-A, Dem Two Brothers, Shape Shop Cafe, and Ellen's Ice Cream will be on hand.

The Culture Center will also be open for the evening with special hours until 8 p.m. providing a scavenger hunt for kids to guide them through the State Museum along with refreshments.

"I'm thrilled about the excitement so many of our industry partners have had to join in on the festivities here in Charleston," said West Virginia Tourism Secretary Chelsea Ruby. "I don't think our state capitol has ever seen an event quite like this. Don't miss the never-before opportunity to ice skate in front of the State Capitol and to roast your own s'more on the lawn. We hope you're able to join us!"

This festival is one of 14 stops the 63-foot Norway Spruce from the Monongahela National Forest will be making on its way to the nation's capital.

— Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com