A peaceful airport display
Tue, 10/23/2007
Sea-Tac International Airport officials are just looking for some peace and harmony this winter-especially with their seasonal decorations.
Last year's Christmas season was anything but harmonious.
In a series of events that brought international attention to Sea-Tac, Port of Seattle staffers removed and then later reinstalled 14 Christmas trees in the main terminal.
The trees were originally yanked after a Seattle rabbi requested the addition of an electronic menorah at the airport. But the trees were put back following a public uproar and the rabbi's assurance that his group would not sue the port.
The port operates the airport.
So this year, the port hired Seattle-based Displaymaker Productions to create new displays that will emphasize peace and harmony as well as the Northwest while using environmentally friendly materials.
"Every person can get behind peace and harmony," airport deputy director Michael Feldman noted. "This will also brighten the airport during the darkest part of the year."
Displaymaker was chosen after recommendations by an advisory committee formed by the port following last year's controversy.
The committee was composed of religious representatives, attorneys specializing in First Amendment issues and community leaders.
At first, the committee attempted to come up with a concept that would represent religions of the world but soon realized that was too broad a scope, according to port staffers.
The decorations will be on display from early November through mid-February, also emphasizing that they are more of a winter display than holiday decorations.
The new decorations will also symbolize seasonal migration, according to Randy Trostle, Displaymaker president and creative director.
Murals, 10 feet by 30 feet, depicting Northwest scenes such as the San Juan Islands, Elliott Bay and Mt. Rainier will be spread throughout the ticketing concourse.
Groves of snow-laden birch trees with flocks of white migrating birds also will rise from billowing snowdrifts in the ticketing area.
As airport visitors "migrate" from ticketing to the main arrivals hall, they will encounter the decoration centerpiece, Trostle said.
The 25-feet by 24-feet display will feature 18 birch trees rising up 30 feet. Twenty-six birds will be depicted swirling through the branches. The whole display will be lit from below.
Environmentally friendly glycerin snow will occasionally fall and travelers will periodically hear wind chimes. The chimes symbolize harmony, he added.
Displaymaker also produces holiday decorations for Bellevue's Snowflake Lane, Bellevue Square and Westwood Village in West Seattle.
The airport display, which is budgeted for $300,000, can be used for several years, Feldman added. Replacing the port's aging decorations would have cost almost as much as the larger display.