by Noella Noelophile®
(Photo courtesy of Christmas in the Park, and used with permission.)
Already? Absolutely. Thanksgiving week is here!
Of course, that means the start of the Christmas season. And if you and your family would like to see some tree lightings, you have plenty of options!
So, for the next few days, we’ll be posting just a few (certainly not all!) of the upcoming scheduled California Christmas-tree lightings, up and down the state. And where better to start, than the Bay Area?
(Graphic courtesy of Christmas in the Park.)
SAN JOSE
November 27, 2015 – Christmas in the Park, 6:00 pm. Santa Claus officially arrives, just in time for the opening of San Jose’s beloved free Christmas tradition! 2015 marks the 36th year of nonprofit Christmas in the Park. Festivities begin with a variety show of entertainment, with performers including the band “Drought, from The School of Rock; the Archbishop Mitty High School Marching Band; and solo acoustic performer Johnny Neri, just prior to the giant Christmas tree’s lights coming on to usher in the Christmas season.
Of course, for Christmas in the Park, a festive night of music and lights is just the beginning.
(Photo courtesy of SanJoseStock.com, and used with permission.)
Their 38-day outdoor Christmas festival incorporates more than 500 trees, decorated by community groups, hourly featured performers, “reindeer games”, children’s crafts every weekend, and more than thirty imaginative lighted Christmas displays.imagination! And your input is requested, as you visit. Entrants to the “Gingerbread Playhouse Competition” completed their creations earlier this week, and you get to vote for your favorite, as they vie for the coveted “Cocoa Cup” trophy.
Since Christmas in the Park is a community event in the best sense of the word (i.e., listening to the community’s feedback and consistently looking to improve visitors’ experience), this year, they have some new features as well. They’re premiering their 5K “Santa Run” on December 13th, as a fundraiser for both Christmas in the Park and San Jose’s Downtown Ice community rink. In addition, this year, if you’d like to give someone a special gift but he/she has everything, Christmas in the Park has a new program. For their “Candy Cane Lane” walk, you can now purchase a candy cane (good for two years) with a special Christmas message on it!
“Christmas in the Park’s” tree lighting ceremony starts at 6:00 pm, Friday, November 27th at the Plaza de Cesar Chavez, downtown San Jose, on Market Street between San Fernando and St. Carlos Streets. As its Christmas gift to the community, Christmas in the Park is open every day, from November 28, 2015 through January 3, 2016, from 9am to midnight. And yes, they are open on Christmas Day!
(Photo courtesy of Drew Altizer, and used with permission.)
SAN FRANCISCO
If you’re in San Francisco this Friday, you may well wish you could be in two places at once. That’s because the festivities are happening both in Union Square, downtown and right by the Bay, simultaneously!
November 27, 2015 Macy’s 26th Annual Great Tree Lighting, 6:00 pm.
Macy’s 83-foot Christmas tree comes to life with more than 33,000 LED lights, around 6:40 pm. But you’ll want to be there much earlier than that, for two reasons.
First, at 6:00 that evening, the ceremony begins, headlined by singer/songwriter/actress Jordin Sparks, of American Idol fame. Vocal Rush from the Oakland School of the Arts, the Transcendence Theatre Company and the Contra Costa Children’s Chorus will all be joining her on the program.
Secondly, it is Black Friday–and Union Square promises to be bustling! Macy’s suggests you arrive at Union Square “early, to stake out your spot” on their website.
Macy’s 26th Annual Great Tree Lighting ceremony runs form 6:00 to 6:40 pm, Friday, November 27th at Union Square, on Powell Street between Post and Geary.
Meanwhile, though, there’s also:
November 27, 2015 The 51st Annual Ghirardelli Tree Lighting Ceremony, 5:30 pm.
The lighting of the 60-foot tree, in the center of the plaza, happens at 5:30 that evening. However, given Black Friday and the fact that there’s almost always a line for the Ghirardelli chocolate factory, you’ll want to arrive earlier.
We’re checking on program times and details to verify them now, as different details are given on several websites. However, one certainty is that gifted local acoustic musician Kevin Toque will be performing both carols and original music for an hour following the tree lighting, according to his website.
The 51st Annual Ghirardelli Tree Lighting Ceremony takes place at 5:30, Friday, November 27th at Ghirardelli Square, 900 North Point Street between Polk and Larkin Streets.
But, if you can’t be there this weekend but happen to be going to the Bay Area in December, you may want to mark your calendar for:
(Photograph courtesy of William Lee, and used with permission.)
Wednesday, December 2 – The Rainbow World Fund World Tree of Hope lighting ceremony and party, 5:30 pm.
A gift from the LGBT community, this tree, in the rotunda of San Francisco’s City Hall, is filled with good wishes designed to inspire peace, love and humanitarianism–not just at Christmastime, but year-round. It’s decorated with more than 15,000 hand-folded origami cranes and stars, each containing a wish sent in by people of all ages, from all walks of life, all around the world. (In fact, you are invited to email in your wish, at this link.)
The party? It’s going to be a great one, with a program that includes a concert by the Grammy-winning San Francisco Boys’ Chorus, an exchange of peace cranes by San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee and Deputy Consul General of Japan Nobuhiro Watanabe and a blessing of the tree by the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.
May the spirit of Christmas–and its love, peace and humanitarianism–be a part of your celebration, wherever you may travel! Tomorrow we’ll look further North at additional California tree lightings.
The Rainbow World Fund World Tree of Hope tree lighting ceremony and party runs 5:30 to 8:00 pm at San Francisco’s City Hall, 1 Dr. Carlton B Goodlett Place, near Grove Street and Van Ness Avenue.