The Andrew Jackson tree in the drawing room.
Governor Bill Haslam and First Lady Crissy Haslam today opened the Tennessee Residence for the third annual “Tennessee’s Home for the Holidays” open house, an event inviting all Tennesseans to tour the holiday decorations at the executive residence during the first two weeks in December.
This year’s holiday décor theme, “Tennessee Legends,” showcases influential people throughout our state’s history, including a tree for Tennessee Governors, Andrew Jackson, David Crockett, Sequoyah, and living legends Pat Summitt and Dolly Parton. Through partnerships with museums across the state, unique historical treasures, including David Crockett’s hunting rifle “Old Betsy” and a Cherokee hunting jacket exemplifying the type of clothing worn by Cherokees during Sequoyah’s time, are featured as part of the decorations. The museum pieces are supplemented with complimenting ornaments and decoration from Jim Marvin Collection, based in Dickson, Tennessee. Marvin is known internationally for his holiday design and has assisted in decorating the White House for the holidays since 1997.
The Military Heroes tree.
“Bill and I are thrilled to welcome visitors to Tennessee’s home to view the holiday decorations during this special season,” Mrs. Haslam said. “The Residence is beautiful and historic, and it is a very fitting place to highlight some of our most legendary Tennesseans.”
Tennessee schools also contributed to the holiday decorations at the Tennessee Residence by creating ornaments to feature on sixteen trees located in Conservation Hall. To continue the “Tennessee Legends” theme, elementary, middle, and high school students created ornaments representing Pat Summitt, Dolly Parton, and Tennessee Military heroes. Tennessee’s colleges, universities, technical schools, and community colleges are represented with ornaments for a Higher Education Tree.
The David Crockett tree in the Dining Room.
Anchor sponsor Fifth Third Bank and supporting sponsors Comcast, TVA, and Wells Fargo are helping to provide the open house event at no cost to the public.
“We are thankful to the corporate sponsors, museums, volunteers and school children across the state who have contributed to this year’s ‘Tennessee’s Home for the Holidays,’” Mrs. Haslam said. “We hope to have many visitors attend to help us bring holiday cheer to our state’s executive residence.”
Open house tours at the Tennessee Residence will be held Monday through Saturday, December 2-14. For more information about “Tennessee’s Home for the Holidays,” please visit www.tn.gov/firstlady.
