Queensbury tree brightens New York City - Glens Falls Post Star [View all]

The 82-foot-tall, 14-ton Norway spruce from the Lebowitz family of Queensbury was lighted in Rockefeller Center on Wednesday night.

Neil Lebowitz donated the tree in early November to the center’s head gardener, Erik Pauze.

Members of the Lebowitz family were in attendance of the lighting and were able to watch the switch be flipped for the tree strung up with over 50,000 multi-colored energy-efficient LED lights.

Special celebrity appearances and performances at the lighting included Jimmie Allen, Andrea Bocelli along with Matteo Bocelli and Virginia Bocelli, David Foster and Katharine McPhee, Brett Eldredge, Mickey Guyton, Alicia Keys, “The Muppets of Sesame Street,” Dan + Shay, Blake Shelton, The Shindellas, Gwen Stefani and Louis York.

The evening also included a performance by the Radio City Rockettes and a special appearance by Amy Poehler and Maya Rudolph.

For the 19th year in a row, a Swarovski Star tops the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree. The star, which debuted in 2018, is made up of 70 spikes covered in 3 million crystals, is nearly 9 and a half feet in diameter, and weighs 900 pounds.

Spectators can view the lighted tree each day from 6 a.m. to midnight, all day (24 hours) on Christmas, and from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. on New Year’s Eve.

The tree was harvested on Nov. 10 from property along Main Street, Queensbury, and arrived in New York City on Nov. 12, where it was raised into place in front of a crowd of spectators.

Local residents gathered along with local TV station crews to watch the tree being cut on a cold Thursday morning.

The tree, for a portion of time, was suspended in mid-air from a crane, and workers were dispersed on the grounds, tugging on ropes secured to the base of branches. The tree traveled down the highway at a maximum of 40 mph to avoid bouncing while on the flatbed.

Lebowitz, on the day of the cutting, commended the community for their cheery spirits.

“What I have seen is an incredible amount of civic pride and how people are really excited about it and it’s been eye-opening to see,” he said.

Even prior to the tree’s cutting, people were traveling from near and far to witness the 50-foot-wide tree prior to the cutting ceremony.

Christine France of Queensbury had stopped by on the morning of Nov. 7 to have her own testimony of the historic spruce.

“It’s amazing to see such a fabulous and glamorous ending to a tree. It made me stop dead in my tracks when I saw the Rockefeller Center barricade,” she said. “I think a lot of people are seeing how nice it is up here.”


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The Rockefeller Center Christmas tree as it stands lit during the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting ceremony on Wednesday night. The lighted tree, which was cut in Queensbury and transported to New York City, will be on display through mid-January. Diane Bondareff, Associated Press