--(BUSINESS WIRE)--(NYSE:GE) WHO: President and Mrs. Bush and the GE Consumer Products' designed-and-decorated National Christmas Tree
WHAT: The lighting of the National Christmas Tree in Washington, D.C. -- GE's 41st year in creating the design and donating the lighting and ornaments for our nation's tree
WHEN: 5 to 6 p.m., Thursday, December 4th
WHERE: On the Ellipse (also called Presidents Park), across from the White House South Lawn
DETAILS: For the 41st consecutive year, GE Consumer Products, one of the General Electric Company's major businesses, has created the design and donated the lights and ornaments for the National Christmas Tree in Washington, D.C. - a 40-foot Colorado blue spruce that grows on the Ellipse between the White House and Washington Monument.
The tree will be illuminated on Thursday evening, December 4, by President and Mrs. Bush, in a lighting and entertainment program presented by the nonprofit Christmas Pageant of Peace, Inc. and the National Park Service.
Responding to the wishes of the White House for a traditional look of yesteryear, GE designer Kathy Presciano sought inspiration from early 20th Century designs in the archives of the National Park Service.
The 2003 lighting borrows ideas from early, uncomplicated designs of the 1920s and '30s when the tree was dressed in simple but colorful lights and accented with candles, explained Presciano, lighting specialist at GE Consumer Products' Lighting Institute at historic Nela Park in Cleveland, Ohio.
In her ninth year as designer of the National Christmas Tree lighting, Presciano created an old-fashioned look using multicolored holiday lights of red, green, blue, and gold. She said, The result is a simple, but beautiful tree.
Adding visual interest to the approximately 13,000 colorful lights on the National tree are 225 candle ornaments, fabricated of GE Lexan(R) resin, donated by GE Plastics of Pittsfield, Massachusetts.
In addition to the candles, about 175 snowflake-shaped suncatchers provide sparkle to enhance daytime viewing. Majestically positioned high atop the tree is a star-shaped, multidimensional ornament in white and red with gold reflective accents.
The National Christmas Tree ornaments and tree topper are unique applications for the lightweight, high-technology Lexan resin, which is used in everything from computers, cell phones, CDs and automotive headlamps, to professional sports helmets and NASCAR stock car windshields.
It was important that we not jeopardize the tree's health by weighing it down with heavy lighting and ornaments, thus the reason for using Lexan resin, said Presciano. She concluded, It is my hope that a visit to the National Christmas Tree will evoke happy memories of past holidays and give people hope for fond memories yet to be created.
(To arrange an interview with GE lighting designer Kathy Presciano, please contact Janice Fraser at 216-266-2185; cell 216-287-2317; or [email protected])
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CONTACT: GE Consumer Products
Janice Fraser, 216-266-2185; cell: 216-287-2317
[email protected]