The Grove Christmas Tree is an approximately 100-foot Christmas tree that is lit every year at

The Grove at Farmer's Market The Grove is a retail and entertainment complex in Los Angeles, located on parts of the historic Farmers Market. History The complex fills space previously occupied by an orchard and nursery, which were the last remains of a dairy farm owned b ...

in Los Angeles, California. In 2002, it was the tallest

Christmas tree A Christmas tree is a decorated tree, usually an evergreen conifer, such as a spruce, pine or fir, or an artificial tree of similar appearance, associated with the celebration of Christmas. The custom was further developed in early modern ...

in the Los Angeles area and attracted about 90,000 visitors a day during the holiday season.

History

The tradition of lighting The Grove Christmas Tree takes place in mid-November after it was begun in 2002 by real estate developer and businessman

Rick J. Caruso Rick Joseph Caruso (born January 7, 1959) is an American businessman. A billionaire, he is the founder and former chief executive officer of Caruso, an American real-estate company. He is the chair of the board of trustees at the University o ...

. He aimed to make the tree the centerpiece of his retail and entertainment complex, The Grove in Los Angeles, during the Christmas season. In time, the popularity of the annual lighting ceremony eventually rivaled that of the famed Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree lighting mid-town Manhattan,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. The Grove Christmas Tree measures 100 to 110 feet while the Rockefeller Center tree is only about 75 to 90 feet. The first white fir tree used for the event was harvested from the Mount Shasta region in Northern California in 2010. The following year, a 100-foot white fir was decorated with more than 10,000 lights and 15,000 ornaments, setting the precedent for successive Christmas trees for The Grove at Farmers Market.

Tree Lighting

Among the performers who have graced the event are operatic acts Il Divo and Jackie Evancho, pop singers

The Backstreet Boys Backstreet Boys (often abbreviated as BSB) are an American vocal group consisting of Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, AJ McLean, and cousins Brian Littrell and Kevin Richardson. Lou Pearlman formed the group in 1993 in Orlando, Florida. The gr ...

, Michael Bolton, Far East Movement, Colbie Caillat,

Sean Kingston Kisean Paul Anderson (born February 3, 1990), better known by his stage name Sean Kingston, is an American-Jamaican singer and rapper. He is known for his hit songs " Beautiful Girls", "Fire Burning", " Take You There", and his collaboration wit ...

Gavin DeGraw Gavin Shane DeGraw (born February 4, 1977) is an American singer-songwriter. DeGraw rose to fame with his song "I Don't Want to Be" from his debut album '' Chariot'' (2003); the song became the main theme song for The WB drama series ''One Tree ...

, and Robin Thicke as well as American Idol alumni Lauren Alaina, Scotty McCreery, and

Phillip Phillips Phillip LaDon Phillips Jr. (born September 20, 1990) Note: An inaccurate birthdate (Sept. 29, 1990) and birthplace (Leesburg, Georgia) appear in is an American singer-songwriter who rose to fame after winning the eleventh season of ''Americ ...

. Caruso’s Top Hats Dancers Rachel Montez Collins and Kathryn Burns have also showcased their famous act. Actor and celebrity insider Mario Lopez hosts the annual celebration. For the 10th anniversary of the Christmas tree lighting, The Grove partnered with the Make-A-Wish Foundation for its “Season of Wishes” campaign. Christmas lights and baubles covered the white fir tree as well as everything else at The Grove. The evening showcased artificial snowfall, bubbles, and a fireworks finale.

KCBS-TV KCBS-TV (channel 2) is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast flagship of the CBS network. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division alongside independent outl ...

, the Los Angeles area affiliate (and West Coast flagship station) of CBS, televises The Grove Christmas Tree lighting live every year. It is syndicated to hundreds of television stations across the United States, including most of the CBS network's

owned-and-operated stations In the broadcasting industry, an owned-and-operated station (frequently abbreviated as an O&O) usually refers to a television or radio station owned by the network with which it is associated. This distinguishes such a station from an affiliate ...

and other affiliates as well.

References

External links

The Grove at Farmer's Market
{{coord, 34.072, -118.358, type:event_globe:earth_region:US-CA, display=title Individual Christmas trees Culture of Hollywood, Los Angeles Tourist attractions in Los Angeles Fairfax, Los Angeles Christmas in California Individual trees in California

History

Tree Lighting

See also

References

External links