GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – A trio of Green Bay schools are helping Austin Straubel International Airport (GRB) shine a little more brightly this holiday season.
A tree lighting ceremony was held at the airport Wednesday to unveil the winners of the first annual GRB Arts Program Holiday Tree contest, which was open to local schools, artists, groups and organizations.
Out of about 15 entries, Green Bay West High School earned first place honors. King Elementary School and Aldo Leopold Community School each took second prize.
“We typically have a 20-foot tree in our Grand Lobby that we decorate, and we thought it would a great idea to put a call out for local artists, groups, schools and organizations to submit ideas to design the tree and choose a winner to decorate the 20-foot tree,” said Airport Director Marty Piette.
Each of the winning schools received a grant allowing their students to decorate a tree, all of which will displayed inside the airport during the busy holiday travel season.
West High School students took first place with their tree “Crystalized.” It’s decorated with hand-crafted glass ornaments.
Students from King Elementary School designed their “The Way of the Oneida” tree to highlight Oneida culture, with ornaments representing the Wolf, Bear and Turtle Clans.
Aldo Leopold Community School’s tree is decorated with “snowflakes from the children of Green Bay.” It features handmade paper snowflakes, handmade by over 200 students in grades 3-8.
Piette said the airport plans to keep the trees on display into early January.
This really helps tie in the holiday season with that industrial airport feel to make it a more inviting environment. People love it. They just got installed last week. We see people taking pictures of it [the trees] all the time. Obviously a great turnout tonight to see all of the winning designs.
West High School’s tree can be viewed publicly in the airport’s Grand Lobby. However, the trees from King Elementary and Aldo Leopold Community School, which are located in Concourse A and Concourse B, will be unavailable to non-ticketed guests for security reasons.
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