Christmas tree goes up in New York City
NEW YORK: The Rockefeller Center Christmas tree is in place and will soon be strung with 50,000 LED lights as one of New York City’s star holiday attractions – the gift of a same-sex married couple.
The 22m-tall, 12-tonne Norway spruce arrived on a flatbed trailer on Saturday morning and was hoisted by a crane into a spot overlooking the Rockefeller skating rink.
Crowds will gather on Nov 28 for a televised ceremony to see the tree burst alive with 8km of multicoloured lights and a 400kg Swarovski crystal star.
The 75-year-old spruce comes from Wallkill, 96km north of New York.
It was donated by Lissette Gutierrez and her wife, Shirley Figueroa, from their home property. They nicknamed it “Shelby”.
Millions of people are expected to visit the tree that will stay up till Jan 7.
“Now it’s not my tree, it’s the world’s tree; I’m so happy to be able to share her with everyone,” Figueroa said at Rockefeller Center. “Millions of people will come to visit Shelby.”
Figueroa, 49, said she refers to the tree as “she” because “I felt she has a female spirit”. Also at the ceremony was Erik Pauze, the centre’s head gardener who cared for the tree over the summer, watering it and feeding it compost tea.
Figueroa said when she and Gutierrez bought their house, the previous owner said Rockefeller Center’s gardener had his eye on the tree.
Gutierrez, 47, was initially reluctant to give up the spruce, but Figueroa convinced her.
After the tree is dismantled, it will be donated to Habitat for Humanity to help build housing.