Albuquerque – The U.S. Capitol Christmas tree will once again be making a stop at the Albuquerque Armory Building on Friday, November 15th from 4-6pm on its way to Washington, D.C. The Armory is located at 600 Wyoming Blvd. NE.

The public is invited to attend this early holiday celebration which will feature live music, hot chocolate, cookies, a Toys for Tots collection, crafts for the kids, a large Albuquerque frame (great for holiday photos), and the tree itself.

“We are honored that this year’s Capitol Christmas Tree will once again be stopping in our city,” said Roger Newall, Veterans Affairs Liaison with the City of Albuquerque. “Many local entities have worked together to make this event happen, and we are excited to not only celebrate the upcoming holiday season, but to give back to our communities and forests. We hosted the tree last year, so we were prepared to make this event even bigger and better. It’s a great way to kick off the holiday season.”

For nearly five decades, the beautiful and iconic U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree has been selected from a National Forest to be presented to the American people. This year's tree, hailing from the Colville National Forest in Washington State, is an 88-foot Engelmann Spruce.

The tree will make stops at 22 cities across the country before it reaches Washington, D.C. on November 25th. Albuquerque is the only stop in New Mexico. Once the tree arrives at the U.S. Capitol building, it will be decorated with thousands of lights and handcrafted ornaments made by Washingtonians.

SkyBitz, an asset tracking and information management solutions leader, will be tracking the tree for the seventh year on its trek across the United States. Visit www.TrackTheTree.com to follow the journey or follow SkyBitz at @TrackTheTree on Twitter.

Special thanks to the generous donations of Albuquerque partners including The City of Albuquerque, the Visit Albuquerque, the New Mexico National Guard, the Forest Service – Southwestern Region, and the Best Western Plus Rio Grande Inn who will be hosting the Capitol Christmas Tree crew for the night.