City Hall is getting into the festive spirit. Crews are busy putting the finishing touches on the Christmas tree ahead of the holiday season.
A towering presence
The Christmas tree is hard to miss along Main Street. It stands 50 feet tall on the east side of City Hall.
It’s also very heavy. It weighs 9,965 pounds; that’s roughly a half a tonne. We switched to the environmentally friendly artificial tree in 2019. It was then expanded in 2021.
Trimming the tree
A tree that tall needs a lot of ornaments. All 640 branches are carefully trimmed with more than 8,000 decorations. They include a mix of blue, white, and gold ornaments, pinecones, and leaf garland.
It’s lit up by 64,400 energy-efficient LED mini-lights. The lights on the custom-made tree topper ‘dance’ to add a little extra sparkle.
The tree arrives at City Hall pre-decorated in large sections. It then takes roughly two days to assemble it onsite in early November.
Annual tree lighting ceremony
The Mayor and Council are inviting everyone to the annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony on November 17. It begins around 5:45 p.m. in the City Hall Courtyard at 510 Main Street.
There will be a special visit from Santa and refreshments will be available.
If you are planning to come to the lighting ceremony, you are encouraged to bring an unwrapped toy for the Christmas Cheer Board.
Our City, Our Podcast
Derek Resch and his team are behind the City’s festive light displays and the City Hall Christmas Tree. He joined Our City, Our Podcast to chat about how getting ready for the holidays is a year-long process. The episode was released in December 2024.
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