Rock, Stick, Glow Christmas in Rockefeller Center
The flooding of the Chateau By The Sea this year provided a unique opportunity for those staff members who call the East Coast home. Instead of flying back after Thanksgiving only to travel again a short time later to see the closing night of the lit tree at the Rock, this year staff “sheltered in place.” We thank the families and relatives who gave up their home offices and hobby rooms in favor of extended stay suites for our copy editor, publicist, assistant PR and image editor so they could attend the tree lighting ceremony.
On Wednesday, December 3rd, TODAY show anchors Matt Lauer, Savannah Guthrie, Al Roker and Natalie Morales provided color commentary – via the nbroadcast – as the switch was thrown on the 90 year old Norway Spruce. This year’s 85 foot tall tree was impressive but by no means a record. Selected trees vary in height year to year…with a 110 foot tree being the maximum transportable length through city streets. And depending on the height and branch density, decorators may use up to 45,000 LED lights to complete their work. Since 2004, the 550 pound Swarovski Star – created by German artist Michael Hammers – has adorned the top of each Rock Center tree. You too can view the tree in all its glory through January 7th.
Noted performers included: Mariah Carey, Prince Royce, Darius Rucker, Lady Gaga, Tony Bennett, Cyndi Lauper, Billy Porter, Seth McFarlane, Sara Bareilles, Idina Menzel, Pentatonix, LeAnn Rimes and Trisha Yearwood.
NBC/Universal’s sustainability initiative, Green is Universal, and the Arbor Day Foundation kicked off their tree planting campaign, Share a Tree, during the broadcast. Viewers were asked to participate by tweeting #shareatree or by visiting greenuniversal.com. For every tweet, like, share or comment, the Arbor Day Foundation agreed to plant one tree – up to a total of one million trees in the coming year.
And after the holidays, the spirit of giving continues. Since 2006, each Rock Center tree is donated to the Habitat for Humanity organization. They mill it into lumber which is used in their home building projects.
And for future reference, the Rockefeller Center is conveniently located between 48th and 51st Streets and Fifth and Sixth Avenues…just a skip away from the finest boutiques along Fifth Avenue. Judging by the haul vids, our ladies blew their bonus checks during their visit.
Happy Holidaze to all our readers!
Photo Credit: NBC
