Happy Holidays blog readers! Soooo, I was ridiculously lucky to kick off my holiday season in style with tickets to the National Christmas Tree Lighting (courtesy of cousin Kyle who works at the National Park Service).
Not only did I get a ticket to this hard-to-attend event, but I also had a great seat that was only about 20 rows back. It was ridiculously cool to be part of such an iconic, star-studded event in the heart of DC. I was feeling oh-so-grateful to be there.
As you can imagine, there were LOADS of secret service at the event and everyone had to be in their seat 30 minutes before the show for the final security check. The 30 minute pre-show included promotional videos from the National Park Service, an interview with my cousin Kyle and a performance by the Coast Guard Band.
There were two performance areas. Bands like Fall-Out Boy used this area above, while soloists either performed directly in front of the tree or over in front of the band.
The event kicked off at 5 PM with the arrival of the First Family who flipped the switch to light up the tree.
Reese Witherspoon served as the emcee for the night, introducing a variety of speakers like the oldest park ranger and musicians of every genre.
Miss Piggy also made an appearance and attempted to take over as the event’s host. When that didn’t work out, she settled on reading ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas with the First Lady.
There were a whole host of performers including:
- Fall Out Boy
- Andra Day
- Tori Kelly
- Trombone Shorty
- Crosby, Stills and Nash
- Aloe Blacc
- Kelsea Ballerini
- The Joyous String Quartet
- Bellamy Young (from Scandal)
Here are a few of the performances I captured pictures of. From the upper left going clockwise: Fall Out Boy, Kelsea Ballerini, Aloe Blacc, The Joyous String Quartet, Crosby, Stills and Nash.
My hands-down favorite performance of the night was Tori Kelly’s. Her voice was UNREAL.
The President came up at the end to speak for 5 minutes before leading the crowd in a rousing version of Jingle Bells. The whole event was about an hour from beginning to end.
The event was televised and is well worth watching. My Minnesotan friends can view it on Sunday the 13th at 12 PM CST on PBS. Be sure and look for me in my green coat with the furry hood. For the non-Minnesotans, CLICK HERE to find out when this program is viewing in your city.
Special thanks to Kyle for getting me a ticket and thanks to my in-laws for providing baby-sitting so I could go. I am so grateful for all the incredible experiences like this that I’ve been able to be a part of.
If you want to see the full gallery of pictures CLICK HERE.
Holiday Blessings to you all! May your celebrations be just as festive!
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