By The sounds of holiday cheer, famous Christmas tracks and fireworks reverberated through the streets of downtown Long Beach for this year’s 10th Annual Christmas Tree Lighting on Dec. 4.
Packed closely together in Christmas sweaters, holiday pajamas and festive attire, attendees filled the Long Beach Terrace Theatre plaza to catch a glimpse of the 67-foot Christmas tree.
Dubbed the ‘main spectacle’ of the light show, the staggering conifer is known to be the largest Christmas tree in all of Los Angeles County, decorated in more than 500,000 Christmas lights.
Apart from the luminescence, attendees could also grab a bite to eat from local food trucks and take photos with Santa Claus and the Long Beach Fire Department mascot, Sparky.
Additionally, the event offered a full-blown holiday concert with performances from Terron Brooks, Long Beach Camerata Singers, acappella group SoCal VoCals and the Long Beach Ballet.
The Long Beach Camerata Singers, which was founded in 1966 by Frank Allen, sang Christmas carols near the food trucks during the Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony on Dec. 4. Photo credit: Samuel Chacko
Due to its 10-year continuity, the event has grown over the years, which has allowed it to attract thousands of people from across Los Angeles and Orange County.
From the start, local resident Liliana Rivera has attended the annual tree lighting with her family. This year, she attended alongside her son and her husband, Tomas.
“When we found out about the first one, we came, and we loved it. From then on, we have been coming every year, even the first ones after COVID,” Rivera said. “We come with our kids, and we even invite a ton of people to come with us.”
Each of the holiday festivities culminated at the end of the night for the anticipated spectacle – the tree lighting.
Gregory Sanders, president of Long Beach Ministers Alliance, emceed the lighting ceremony, introducing the audience to Long Beach’s Mayor Rex Richardson, the Long Beach City Council and the many that contributed to the production of the event.
After formalities and a non-denominational prayer, everyone came together to count down the lighting of the giant Christmas tree.
Starting from 10, everyone in the audience counted down to one in unison, as Richardson and his two daughters flipped the switch and illuminated the staggering Christmas tree.
The Long Beach Terrance Theatre was packed with families on Dec. 4 as everyone filmed and watched the multiple dancing and singing performances before the tree lighting commenced. Photo credit: Samuel Chacko
Shortly afterwards, a display of fireworks lit up the sky above the Terrace Theater, to the tune of Mariah Carey’s hit holiday song, ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You.’
For attendees and local sales executives Sandy Hensley and Quentin Roberts, the annual tree lighting spectacle sparked the feeling of holiday cheer.
“I feel that Long Beach is a city that cares about their community,” Hensley said. “Events like these bring people closer together.”
Two longtime friends, Hensley and Roberts chose to attend the event together since their jobs were close by.
“Long Beach is the biggest small town in the world. Everybody knows everybody, and it’s just a great close-knit community,” Roberts said. “For us to be able to come together in the city’s center and begin to enjoy the holidays is just great.”
