LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — A 60-foot spruce tree from northern Michigan was cut down Thursday and bound for the Capitol on Saturday after being picked as this year’s state Christmas tree.

The spruce comes from Onaway in the northern Lower Peninsula, and is a donation from Vic Ruppert, in honor of his late wife, Shirley Ruppert.

The Great Lakes Timber Professionals Association, the Michigan Association of Timbermen and the Michigan Department of Technology, Management & Budget harvested the tree, state officials said.

DTMB will coordinate the transportation and delivery of the tree from Presque Isle County to Lansing on Saturday. Boy Scouts will be at the Capitol to untie the tree; the HI-BALL company of Lansing will volunteer a crane and crew to set up the tree near the intersection of Capitol Avenue and East Michigan Avenue.

After the tree is in place near the Capitol, Lansing’s forestry team will prepare the tree for the lighting scheme and decorations. The Onaway spruce tree’s journey will culminate in the annual tree-lighting ceremony on Nov. 17. Officials will flip the light switch on at 7:30 p.m.

2023 State of Michigan Christmas tree: a 60-foot Spruce from Onaway, Mich.

The tree is the first from Presque Isle County and the 13th from Michigan’s Lower Peninsula to become the state Christmas tree after the tradition began in 1987.