A 15-foot concolor fir grown in Garrett County graces the front of the Latvian Embassy in Washington, D.C., to help commemorate the 500th anniversary of the world’s first decorated Christmas tree, which is said to have stood in Latvia’s capital city of Riga. The cut tree was donated to the embassy on behalf of the Maryland Christmas Tree Association by Marshall and Cindy Stacy, who own and operate the 370-acre Pinetum tree farm in Swanton. The state tree association used a Maryland specialty crop grant this season for its “buy local–buy real” marketing campaign and to connect with Latvia’s special tree celebration. Pictured (left to right) at the embassy’s lighting ceremonies, held last Friday, are Latvian ambassador Andrejs Pildegovics and Marshall and Cindy Stacy. Photo by Peter Alunans.
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