A huge crowd joined Santa Claus as he counted down the lighting of Detroit’s 70-foot-tall Christmas tree on Friday. When the tree with 25,000 LED lights came to life, cheers erupted in Campus Martius Park.
The celebration, produced by the Downtown Detroit Partnership and presented by DTE Energy Foundation, transforms downtown Detroit into a Christmas wonderland each year, attracting tens of thousands of family members, friends, loved ones and more.
This year, Detroit police expected about 50,000 visitors.
In addition to the tree lighting, there will be light displays throughout downtown Detroit, with more than 1 million lights, according to the event’s producers. Live music and figure skating performances, food, drinks and more kept the crowd entertained all night long.
Amelia Sharpe, of Detroit, also known as The Christmas Tree Lady of Detroit, stands near the 70-foot-tall Michigan Norway Spruce being lit during the 21st annual Detroit Tree Lighting event at Campus Martius Park in downtown Detroit on Friday, November 22 2024 .
The Grinch even appeared to Dr. To promote Suess’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The 313 Presents musical at Fox Theater.
Mashana Burton, 51, of Grosse Pointe Park has been attending the ceremony since she was a child. This year she showed up with her 9-year-old son, Nasir Mausi, who got to enjoy cookies and cream wafer before the tree was lit.
Burton said she always enjoys the nostalgia and beauty of the event.
“I love Christmas, so I come back every year. I just love it. It’s so beautiful here,” she told the Free Press. “What I like most about it is seeing the tree light up. The holiday officially starts tonight.”
16-year-old Myla Garceau saw the tree light up for the first time, along with her mother Kelly Stroup-Garceau and her two best friends, 17-year-old Lilly Golden and 16-year-old Gabrielle Whittaker – all residents of Gross Pointe Park.
The crowd reacts after the 65-foot-tall Michigan Norway Spruce is lit during the 21st annual Detroit Tree Lighting event at Campus Martius Park in downtown Detroit on Friday, Nov. 22, 2024.
In addition to seeing Detroit’s Christmas tree light up, the teens cheered and giggled as they watched current and former classmates perform with Grosse Pointe South High School’s choral group.
“We come here for skating, but never for the tree lighting,” said Myla’s mother, Kelly. “I love seeing Detroit so alive.”
The group also said they were excited to do some holiday shopping and pick up some unique gifts for loved ones while they were in town for the ceremony.
Detroit resident Allison Pasque, 32, said she was one of the figure skaters who performed at the 2003 opening of the Detroit Tree Lighting with the Detroit Skating Club.
Now, 21 years later, she still attends the event as a spectator. This year, she was joined by her boyfriend Sam Medwid and their friend Steve Thurman, who spent the holidays volunteering with the Salvation Army to raise money for those in need.
“It’s really cool what they did with the setup,” Pasque said. “They have all the individual stores, local vendors, you can donate money to charity; it’s great.”
The ice rink at Campus Martius Park, presented by Visit Detroit, opens Saturday for the 2024-2025 season and will remain open through March.
Road closures around Campus Martius Park for Detroit’s tree lighting ceremony will last until 6 a.m. Saturday.
Nour Rahal is a trending and pioneering news reporter. Email her nrahal@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @nrahal1.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tree lighting kicks off the 2024 holiday season in downtown Detroit
