The 2013 U.S. Capitol Christmas tree will stop in downtown Vancouver from 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday at Heritage Square, also known as Block 10, at Eighth and Washington streets.
The public is invited to a send-off event sponsored by the Vancouver Rotary Foundation Festival of Trees with the city and the regional tourism office.
Santa and his elves, Smokey Bear and Woodsy Owl will greet visitors. Nonperishable food donations will be collected for F.I.S.H. of Vancouver.
The tree is an 88-foot Engelmann spruce from the Colville National Forest in the northeastern corner of the state. It is stopping at 11 Washington communities before traveling to more than a dozen U.S. cities before arriving in Washington, D.C., at the end of November.
