CHRISTMAS TREE DELIVERED TO PUBLIC SQUARE TODAY
Tree to be decorated for next week’s lighting ceremony
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Nov. 28, 2007) -
The Public Square in front of the Metro Courthouse will begin to look a lot like Christmas this afternoon when a blue spruce standing over 35 feet tall is delivered in preparation for next week’s tree lighting ceremony.
Hermitage resident Lula Mai Mills donated the tree, which is being cut and delivered through coordinated efforts by Nashville Electric Service and Metro Parks. The truck to transport the tree and the crane to lift it into place on the Public Square have both been provided by NES.
Over 2,000 colored lights will illuminate the tree when they are turned on during the city’s annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony on Dec. 6. Mayor Karl Dean and his family will flip the switch at about 5:20 p.m., lighting both the tree and six wreaths decorating the Historic Courthouse and Founders Tower.
“Christmas has always been a special time of year for my family. It’s also a special time for our city,” Dean said. “Nashville was founded on Christmas day over 200 years ago. This is a time to reflect on how far we’ve come as a city and where we are headed in the future. It’s also a time to simply enjoy some of best parts of the season – music, food, and of course, the lights.”
Vice Mayor Diane Neighbors will join in the festivities. And Rick Marino, morning show host for country radio station 103 WKDF, will emcee the event.
Entertainment for the evening will kick-off just before 5 p.m. with a performance by the MET Singers Honor Choir, the signature program of Choral Arts Link Inc., a non profit organization with five choral ensembles made up of local students in second through 12th grades. The choir’s diversity reflects that of Nashville’s community with 22 public schools, two private schools and one home school represented among the singers.
The talent of Nashville’s youth will also be displayed in an excerpt from “The 26th Annual Mini-Nutcracker,” a performance by Metro Parks' Centennial Youth Ballet.
Designed to introduce young children to ballet as a performance art, “The Mini-Nutcracker” is an abbreviated, narrated version of the “Nutcracker Suite Ballet.” The young dancers in the Centennial Youth Ballet will perform a few of the ballet’s shortened scenes and variations with poise, technical precision, and polish.
Representing the most recent addition to Nashville’s assortment of musical talent, a barbershop quartet from the Barbershop Harmony Society will also perform. Lunch Break, a quartet that takes its name from the members’ chosen time to practice, will sing “The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don’t Be Late),” among others.
The Barbershop Harmony Society, a 30,000-member all-male singing organization, completed its relocation to Nashville from Kenosha, Wis. in October of this year, moving into 36,000 square feet of renovated space in the heart of downtown.
The District, a volunteer organization that is dedicated to the historic areas of downtown Nashville, will provide refreshments, including a mix of nuts from The Peanut Shop in the Arcade.
The event is free and open to the public.
For media inquiries contact:
Janel Lacy
(615) 862-6020
janel.lacy@nashville.gov