AUGUSTA — The logistics of cutting a fir tree down next to the Augusta Police Station and moving it to Market Square where it will stand for the holiday season are pretty straightforward.

But when the whole process is dogged by a notorious holiday thief and well, his dog, everything gets a little more complicated.

Never fear: in under two hours Saturday morning, crews from the city of Augusta, Lajoie Brothers and Brownies Landscaping & Excavating were able to shift the 30-foot holiday tree from one location to the other without a hitch.

Setting the tree up Saturday starts the clock rolling on the city’s slate of holiday events. On Friday, the city will kick off its holiday celebrations with a tree lighting at 5 p.m. in Market Square. They will continue with the 12 Days of Augusta Holiday Events, which will include a Santa tour of Augusta and fireworks on Nov. 27, ticketed breakfasts at the Augusta Civic Center on Dec. 4 and 11, and a showing of “The Grinch” in Mill Park on Dec. 18.

This year’s theme is based on the Dr. Seuss tale “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.” Decorations in downtown store windows will follow the theme of the classic holiday tale and appearances by the Grinch himself and his faithful dog, Max, in a series of live-action videos that will be shown on CTV 7, the city’s cable local access channel and on Facebook.

Parts of those videos were filmed Saturday, as the Grinch skulked around the activities at both the police station and downtown, with Max never far away as crews lifted the tree from the flatbed trailer and placed it using a crane into its base, a hole dug in the lawn of Market Square.

“We wanted to be more interactive this year,” Haley Jaramillo Gauvin, director of communications and marketing for the city of Augusta, said Saturday.

Andrea Dubois of Digital Spirit Media records Augusta Police Chief Jared Mills arresting the Grinch, played by Bruce Chase, for a video production Saturday during the holiday tree installation in Augusta. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

This will be the second winter holiday season spent during the COVID-19 pandemic, and with the number of cases rising across the state, some people are concerned about avoiding large gatherings, Jaramillo said.

The videos, which will also feature a reading of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” and a message from Santa, are expected to start airing sometime after Friday’s tree lighting.

Bruce Chase, director of parks and recreation for the city of Augusta, said putting together this year’s themed events took the skills and talent of members of his department, the Augusta Police Department, the Augusta Civic Center and Augusta Child Care, Gauvin and CTV 7 staff.

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