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Lighting of the National Christmas Tree in Washington, DC

By Lisa Dunham

Real Estate Agent

November 29, 2011 02:31 PM

President Obama and the First Family will officially light the National Christmas Tree on Thursday, December 1, 2011. The 89th annual holiday tree lighting ceremony will take place at 5:00 pm EST on the Ellipse in President's Park.

At 4:30 pm EST, the National Christmas Tree Lighting pre-show will stream LIVE online at www.thenationaltree.org. The ceremony will be hosted by Carson Daly and will include performances by will.i.am of The Black Eyed Peas, Big Time Rush, Ellie Goulding, OneRepublic, Rodney Atkins, and Marsha Ambrosius. The show will also feature special appearancez by Kermit the Frog and of course, Santa Claus!

For added holiday cheer, The National Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony will broadcast nationally on public television throughout the month of December. If you miss it on Thursday, you will have the entire month of December to view the program.

Transportation: The closest Metro stations to the Ellipse (located south of the White House) are Federal Triangle, Metro Center and McPherson Square. Parking is extremely limited, so public transportation is highly recommended.

Happy Holidays!

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Patricia Kennedy

RLAH@properties - Washington, DC

Home in the Capital

Lisa, it might be a fun thing to go watch on Thursday. We could get some great blog pictures!

Nov 29, 2011 02:54 PM

Lisa Dunham

Alexandria, VA

Associate Broker, Alexandria Virginia Real Estate

Absolutely Patricia! This would be a great photo opportunity and I am sure the experience would certainly be one to remember. Thanks for stopping by!

Nov 29, 2011 11:55 PM

Cathy Criado

Criado Realty - San Antonio, TX

Making Real Estate Profitable

Way cool Lisa! I saw this televised last year. While it's a great program I have to question the producer who invited BB King. Don't get me wrong, the man's a legend and I love his work but, in case you didn't see it, he forgot the music or something bad happened. He had a band behind him where he was sitting with his guitar. He never touched the guitar and he sang intermittently as if he forgot the words. It was very sad indeed. I'm big believer in letting the legend live, and not tarnish it with bad thoughts in the end. He's still a legend in my book but time to stay home.

It's an amazing opportunity. Have fun finding parking! LOL!

Nov 30, 2011 01:03 AM

Cathy, funny you should say that! LOL! I saw it last year and was thinking the exact same thing ... maybe worst ... :-) I felt really bad for him. I did not know what was going on. I will always have much respect for BB King and his contribution to the music industry. However, let's just hope there will be none of that this year! :-)

Nov 30, 2011 01:42 AM

Debb Janes

Nature As Neighbors - Camas, WA

Put My Love of Nature At Work for You

Thanks for the reminder Lisa. I always love to watch this and cracked up with you two discussing the sad BB King performance. :) You should go and shoot video - it would make a wonderful "local" video for lots of us to watch. How many of us get to attend this in person? Wow.

Dec 01, 2011 02:03 AM

Karen Hawkins, MBA - Langley & Surrey, BC

Royal Pro Real Estate Network - Langley, BC

Looking forward to seeing this today, Lisa - sooooo exciting to kick off the holiday season!

Dec 01, 2011 02:47 AM

Debb, I had all intentions of going. But my little one is not feeling well today. In fact, we are headed to the doctor's this afternoon. She is only 2 years old so Mommy may have to stay home with her. Perhaps, I can get someone else to shoot that video! :-)

Dec 01, 2011 02:58 AM

Karen, I am looking forward to it as well. This is one of my favorite times of the year so I am definitely excited and ready to enjoy the season!

Dec 01, 2011 02:59 AM

Shar Sitter

Rooms With Style - Minneapolis, MN

Home Staging and Redesign Minneapolis/ St. Paul, M

Oh I have to put this on my bucket list. As well as the lighting of the tree in Rockefeller Center. Both would be so cool! Hope it was great.

Dec 03, 2011 10:30 AM

Shar, I have had the pleasure of seeing them both and they are well worth braving the elements to attend! If you ever get out this way during the holidays, you should definitely put one or both on your list of things to do.

Dec 03, 2011 02:48 PM

Joanne Louise Stevens

Keller Williams Realty Los Angeles-Brentwood - Los Angeles, CA

Realtor - Serving Brentwood and Surrounding Cities

You know, I lived in Fairfax, Virginia for two years and never saw the lighting of the National Christmas Tree. Most likely I didn't want to deal with the traffic off Route 50 to the city. This was from 1980-1982. I'm sure it's great to see in person. One year, I might fly out and stay with my long time friend, take the subway into the city and join the festivities! I'm sure it's a magnificent sight!

Dec 04, 2011 04:56 PM

Joanne, we all know how the story goes. If you live here, you probably will avoid the festivities because traffic can be a nightmare. No matter where you are going, you have to plan your trip around the area's traffic patterns. Although I have lived here for nearly 20 years, there are still a few things that I have not done. Hopefully, I will get to those things before I leave the area. Happy Holidays!

Dec 05, 2011 12:01 AM

Wayne Goss

Keller Williams - Punta Gorda, FL

THE MYSTERY MAN

Lisa,

I always look forward to the lighting of our tree. It is always interesting to see how they decorated it. I think I watched a TV show once on the lighting of the tree and what they have to do to get it done. It's quite the thing! Many, many hours of preparation and hard work. Down here in Florida I just wrap my Palm Trees up like a candy cane and i am done! Merry Christmas...Wayne

Dec 07, 2011 02:31 AM

Wayne, you are absolutely right. Lighting the Christmas Tree is quite a production. However, I tend to like your method better. 1-2-3 and I'm done. No big production here! :-) Wishing you a joyous Christmas season as well!

Dec 07, 2011 09:32 AM

Lighting of the National Christmas Tree in Washington, DC

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