Mayor Martin J. Walsh and guests from the Province of Nova Scotia will celebrate the 78th Annual Tree Lighting on Boston Common on Thursday, December 5, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
The celebration is presented by the Boston Parks and Recreation Department, title sponsor The Province of Nova Scotia, signature sponsor Encore Boston Harbor, Jumbotron sponsor Geico Local Office, presenting sponsors Exelon and the Coca-Cola Company, and media sponsors WCVB Channel 5, Magic 106.7 FM, and the Boston Globe. The holiday lights throughout both parks will light up in sequence shortly before 8 p.m. when Mayor Walsh is joined onstage by members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Santa Claus, Rudolph, and Frosty. The show will close with a pyrotechnic display by Atlas PyroVision.
The holiday decorations throughout Boston Common and the Public Garden include the City of Boston’s official 2019 Christmas tree, a 45-foot white spruce tree donated by Desmond Waithe and Corina Saunders of Chance Harbour, Pictou County, Nova Scotia.
WCVB Channel 5’s Anthony Everett and Shayna Seymour will once again host Channel 5’s live broadcast of the event beginning at 7 p.m. featuring multi-platinum singer-songwriter and Lexington native Matt Nathanson,
award-winning Nova Scotian alt-pop stars Neon Dreams, Nova Scotian R&B singer-songwriter Zamani, performances by cast members from the new musical “Dolly Parton’s Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol” and “Irving Berlin’s White Christmas: The Musical,” as well as Dorchester’s Holy Tabernacle Church Choir.
The lighting of the trees on the Common is made possible through the generosity of the Lynch Foundation, the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority, the Herb Chambers Companies, and contributions from other individuals and institutions. The annual holiday display includes the official Christmas tree from Nova Scotia and trees throughout Boston Common. Refreshments and additional support will be provided by promotional sponsors Dunkin’, Capital One, Xfinity, H.P. Hood LLC, Power Crunch Bars, Drake’s Cakes, perfectly free fruit bites, and Nature’s Path Foods.
This is the 48th year that Nova Scotia has given a tree to the people of Boston as thanks for relief efforts following the December 6, 1917, explosion of a munitions ship in Halifax Harbor. Within 24 hours of the disaster a train loaded with supplies and emergency personnel was making its way from Boston to Nova Scotia. For more information please call (617) 635-4505 or go to www.boston.gov/parks. For Boston Common parking information go to www.massconvention.com/bcg.html.