Let there be lights. And ornaments. And fireworks.
Chicago’s holiday season is now open, following Friday night’s lighting of the City’s official Christmas tree in Millennium Park.
Thousands of revelers turned out for the annual ceremony that combines holiday fun and fireworks at Washington and Michigan.
This year’s tree (the city’s 110th) — a 45-foot-tall Colorado blue spruce — was donated by the De La Cruz family of southwest suburban Darien. Abby De La Cruz and her parents, Zenaida and Efren, entered an area-wide contest earlier this fall to determine whose tree would make its home in Millennium Park for the holiday season.
The family was on hand Friday night, joining Mayor Brandon Johnson as the official on-switch was pushed, illuminating more than 60,000 LED lights on the massive tree and signaling the start of fireworks high over the rooftops of nearby Loop buildings.
In an interview with the Sun-Times earlier this month, family members said the tree was “a gift to the city” in gratitude to the place they’ve called home since the early 1970s, when they left the Philippines for a better life.
Abby De La Cruz (left) and her parents, Zenaida and Efren, of Darien, stand in front of a Colorado blue spruce tree in front of their home. The tree — now fully decorated — stands in Millennium Park as the city’s official Christmas tree. The family donated the tree to the city following the outcome of an area-wide contest earlier this month.
Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times
Entertainment at Friday’s event included performances by cast members from “Boop! The Musical,” and Chicago Dance Crash.
Also opening Friday night was the McCormick Ice Rink, just adjacent to the holiday tree court. Admission to the rink is free, but time-stamped tickets, available online, are required. Rates for skate rentals: $16 Monday through Thursday; $20 Friday through Sunday, and on holidays. Locker rental is $2. The rink remains open through March 3.
