Grady Armstrong, a fourth grader from Virginia City, Nevada, helped U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and members of the Nevada Congressional Delegation light the Capitol Christmas tree on Tuesday night.
The tree is a 53-foot-tall red fir from the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest in Nevada. It’s the first time in 61 years that a tree from Nevada is featured on the West Lawn of the Capitol.
The tree traveled roughly 3,000 miles to D.C., and is decorated with about 6,000 LED lights and more than 5,000 ornaments, many of them made by children from across Nevada.
Armstrong earned the honor of lighting the tree after winning an essay contest.
“You don’t have to go far to enjoy Nevada. Right from my school playground, you can look east for hundreds of miles over the mountain ranges that make up the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest,” he said.
“I want the country to know how special Nevada’s public land and national forests are. These lands are full of wonder, from big animals like elk, mule deer, bighorn sheep and even moose,” Armstrong added.
The tree, nicknamed “Silver Belle” as a nod to Nevada being the “Silver State,” will be lit from dusk until 11 p.m. every night through early January 2026.
WTOP’s Alan Etter contributed to this report.