The City of Toronto’s official 18-metre (60-foot) Christmas tree will be delivered to Nathan Phillips Square today for the 51st annual Cavalcade of Lights presented by Great Gulf later this month. The arrival of the tree is an ideal photo opportunity to capture a longstanding tradition that launches the holiday season in Toronto.
Date: Monday, November 6
Time: Tree arrives at 8 a.m., installation lifting and assembly from 9 a.m. to noon
Location: Nathan Phillips Square, 100 Queen St. W.
Neil Weller of Weller Tree Service will be onsite to speak with media about the process of selecting the perfect tree for Toronto. Weller Tree Service has supplied the tree to the City of Toronto since the 1960s.
The 51st annual Cavalcade of Lights will launch the holiday season on November 25 at 7 p.m. at Nathan Phillips Square. The event will include a DJ skating party, the lighting of Toronto’s official tree, live musical main stage performances, special pop-up performances and a spectacular fireworks display.
The full program for Cavalcade of Lights will be available at http://www.toronto.ca/cavalcade on November 7.
Facts about Toronto’s official Christmas tree
• The tree arrives on a flatbed truck from Bancroft, Ontario and is lifted into place with cranes.
• It takes a crew of six people and approximately four hours to install the tree.
• The tree requires three days to settle before it can be decorated.
• A crew of four people will take two weeks to decorate and light the tree.
• Countless pieces of large machinery, including a cherry picker, are used by the decorating crew to string the lights and place each ornament on the tree.
• Unlike an indoor tree, Toronto’s Christmas tree does not need watering.
• The tree is 18 metres (60 feet, about six storeys) in height.
• The tree remains on display throughout the holiday season and is later recycled.
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