Philadelphia kicks off the holiday season with City Hall tree lighting celebration
CENTER CITY (WPVI) -- The city's official holiday tree was lit in ceremonial fashion Friday night.
Attending the tree lighting is an annual tradition for many in the city, including Nicole Quiring and her family.
"We try to do it every year," said Quiring. "We're on our third baby, so we're going to make it a tradition."
The night kicked off with a holiday concert by local singers and musical group M.T.B, also from Philadelphia.
"It's exciting to be here because it's downtown Philadelphia. See all our friends and family and fans," said Devonttae of M.T.B. "It felt good to be out here."
Mayor Kenney offered a reminder for the season as well.
"It's an important time of the season for us to renew ourselves, renew our commitment to each other," said Mayor Jim Kenney. "Peace on earth, peace on our streets, peace in the hearts, and it starts with us.
But the star of the show was 52-foot-tall Canaan Fir from York, Pennsylvania. It is decorated with more than 2200 linear feet of lights.
The tree headlines the activities around City Hall, including ice skating at Rothman Rink, enjoying hot chocolate by the fire and shopping at the Christmas Village.
It's just the right amount of holiday cheer for Patti Anderson of Binghamton, New York.
"This is the first time here for the holidays," said Anderson. "We've gone to NYC many times. This is nice. It's not as crazy as New York. So this is good."
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