SEASONAL GLOW

Old Town Holiday Stroll includes lighting of tree

The Old Town Holiday Stroll offers shopping, entertainment and a tree lighting that is the highlight of today’s event.

The tree, which stands over two stories tall, is made up of dozens of smaller trees. This year’s tree is made up of 156 trees, according to a city news release.

“It’s usually around 140 to 150 trees,” said Bree Ortiz, events and operations manager for the city of Albuquerque. “It’s actually real trees. The stand that it goes into is about 7,000 pounds, and it is a little over two stories high, and they get real trees and they put them in the stand so all the branches are a bunch of trees made into one big tree.”

The tree-lighting tradition began with the Aceves family, who owns Plaza Don Luis, where the tree stands. Last year marked the tree lighting ceremony’s 25th year. It was the first lighting since the death of Henry Aceves, a longtime Old Town business owner who began the tree lighting with his wife, Karen, according to Bree and the city of Albuquerque website.

“It’s been a family tradition,” Ortiz said of the Aceves family. “It’s been generations of them putting this together. So they own it, they own the stand and they store it and they bring it out. Our Parks and Recreation brings out their bucket trucks to help put up the tree.”

The city and the Aceves family hit a snag this year when it came time to put up the tree.

“We needed a crane to put up the stand itself, and the crane that has done it every year was broken and so actually during the Twinkle Light (Parade) class, I made an announcement to see if anyone had a crane and we got a couple cranes,” Ortiz said. “We did get a company called Crane Service Inc., so they donated and brought a crane and brought the staff and did everything to help put it up, and then Parks and Recreation was out there, and then all the (Aceves) family.”

The city will be closing roads in

Old Town near the event to protect pedestrians.

There also will be entertainment at Plaza Don Luis and around Old Town.

COURTESY THE CITY OF ALBUQUERQUE The 7,000-pound metal tree stand holds about 150 trees to make up the over twostory-high Christmas tree in Plaza Don Luis.