35-Foot-Tall Holiday Art Display Lights Up Downtown Silver Spring

SILVER SPRING, MD — "Re-Imagining the Holidays," a public art installation that changes theme every year, has returned to downtown Silver Spring.

This year's installation is a 35-foot-tall tree adorned with more than 200 colored acrylic snowflakes, shimmering garland, and bright lights. The theme, "Sparking Snowfall," pays homage to the holiday season.

"With more than 215 individual acrylic snowflakes, this year's theme is bright, colorful, uplifting, and is sure to spark joy in all who experience it," said Laurie Yankowski, who oversees the art installation on Fountain Plaza. "The local artists who have created this year's tree, Michelle Izquiero, Vanessa Smith, and Eric Satchell II, are working under the direction of internationally acclaimed public artist Karl Unnasch and muralist Michael Cimino."

The tree will be lit nightly at sundown.

Each year's holiday display has a strong charity tie-in. And in 2020, it's all about helping healthcare workers on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"This year, Downtown Silver Spring has partnered with the Adventist HealthCare White Oak Medical Center Foundation ... for 'A Flurry of Gratitude,'" a press release read. "Shoppers can donate $25 to the hospital foundation's COVID-19 Response Fund to thank a healthcare worker. With the donation, your personal message of thanks will be printed and displayed on snowflakes ... Up to 100 snowflakes will be installed in early December and on display through the holiday season until Jan. 10."