Mayor Helps Lift Fort Worth Christmas Tree Into Place
By FRANK HEINZ
Updated 8:51 AM CST, Tue, Nov 17, 2009
Fort Worth Mayor Mike Moncrief helped raise the city's Christmas Tree into place in Sundance Square on Monday.
Moncrief took the controls of a crane to hoist the 52-foot tall Blue Spruce off of a flatbed truck and into a tree stand along Main Street between 3rd and 4th streets.
Next, the tree will be adorned with 4,000 conservation-friendly LEDs and its traditional Nutcracker motif. The branches and LEDs aren't the only green features of the tree -- Sundance Square and Green Mountain Energy Company have teamed up again this year to offset the Christmas tree's electricity emissions with 100 percent pollution free wind power from West Texas.
The Grand Marshal for this year's parade is former Dallas Cowboys fullback Walt Garrison, who played for America's Team for nine seasons between 1966 and 1974. Garrison, who is originaly from Denton, also spent time on the professional rodeo circuit.
The tree will come to life following the 27th Annual Chesapeake Energy Parade of Lights on Friday, Nov. 27. As is the yearly tradition following the lighting ceremony, Santa Claus will take his place beneath the tree to hear Christmas wishes from North Texas children until he has to return to the North Pole at 10 p.m.
The Parade of Lights kicks off at 6 p.m. at the corner of Belknap and Throckmorton streets and winds its way through Sundance Square. The tree lighting takes place just after 7:30 p.m. The fun doesn't stop there, parents are invited to bring chairs for the entire family and watch Will Ferrell's Christmas classic "Elf" on a giant screen in the Chisholm Trail parking lot, west of the tree, beginning at 7:45 p.m.
For more information about Sundance Square or the parade, please visit www.sundancesquare.com or www.fortworthparadeoflights.org.
First Published: Nov 16, 2009 3:23 PM CST
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