LANDING'S TREE LIGHTING FEATURES CUSTOM-MADE TREE

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The 22nd Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony at The Jacksonville Landing drew a crowd of hundreds who gathered to seen a tree that is one-of-a-kind and features hourly light shows. The ceremony took place at 7 p.m. Friday in The Landing’s center courtyard.

For 22 years, The Landing has selected and funded the purchase and decorating of the tree for the lighting ceremony. This year’s tree, a one-of-a-kind artificial tree that has been built especially for The Jacksonville Landing by Indiana-based Winterland, Inc., stands at 56 feet tall and is decorated with 78,454 L.E.D. lights and more than 240 ornaments.

“Every year we incorporate a new and innovative aspect to our holiday programming,� said Landing director of public relations Rachel Nudge. “This year we’ve selected an artificial tree that has been built especially for The Landing and is programmed to perform a 10-minute light show at the top of every hour.

It is also energy efficient, containing more than 78,000 L.E.D. lights, which will decrease the amount of electricity tenfold.�

Special guests Mayor John Peyton and Toney and Bonnie Sleiman lit the tree. Music for the evening was provided by the chorus and orchestra from Douglas Anderson School of the Arts.

The nightly light shows began after the tree lighting ceremony and are expected to continue throughout the holiday season. There will be four nightly shows Sunday through Thursday at 6 p.m., 7 p.m., 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday shows will run every hour, on the hour from 6 p.m. through midnight.

The tree lighting was just the start of a weekend of holiday fun along the river. On Saturday evening boats will line for the Jacksonville light parade. Boats of all types and sizes will be decorated with lights and more as they cruise along the water downtown. The parade begins at 7 p.m. and afterward the boat light show there will be a fireworks show. undefined undefined

Copyright 2008 by News4Jax.com. All rights reserved.