Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Tree-lighting at City Hall

Here's what I love most about our Christmas tree-lighting event every year at Pasadena City Hall: Ours is not an uber fancy-schmancy department store type of tree. Instead, ours is traditional and folksy. The entire ceremony warms everyone's hearts.

Last night dozens of people gathered in the grand entrance for the occasion.


Expectant faces were everywhere we looked.


Robin Turrentine led the McKinley After-school Performing Choir. These children -- and their director -- are magnificent.

Mayor Bill Bogaard and I shared the MC responsibilities.


Some of our wonderful volunteers served up refreshments.


And then Mayor Bogaard flicked the switch that lit the tree.

Thanks to Manuel Galloway of our Public Works Department, a crew cleaned and polished the tile floor of City Hall's grand entrance for the event, and the lights are reflected beautifully as a result. (Another Public Works Department crew delivers the tree to City Hall every year, and still another decorates it.)


Happy holidays, everyone!

All photos were shot by the mighty Zack Stromberg of my Public Affairs Office staff.

6 comments:

Cafe Pasadena said...

Just wundering how often the crew cleans & polishes the tile floor to the Grand Entrance?

I was there, briefly, for the Mayor to flip his switch. Once I knew the Tree lights worked, and no hot cocoa to be found, I had to go - I had an apptment to see a heater.

Good work per the norm, PIO!

pasadenapio said...

Mike, it is cleaned often and polished occasionally, but this is the most highly polished shine I've seen in all my years here. Manuel went above and beyond with his guys yesterday preparing the grand entrance for this event!

Petrea Burchard said...

Just beautiful! Can't wait to see it myself.

pasadenapio said...

Petrea, I'm sure you'll get just the right shot!

Mike, I'll try to remember hot cocoa for next year. You may need to remind me when the time comes!

Cafe Pasadena said...

Oh, piO! I have enuf trouble trying 2 remember 2 remind myself to remind you semi-weakly about that other Citihall xtravaganza! (It's probably gonna bee warm, so skip the Hard & Hot Stuff for that one)

Unfortunately, I think I'm gonna have two remember too remind ewe about de Hot Cocoa. I should've remembered 2 remind you about it for this year when you brot up the ChrisTreeLighting a couple of months ago!

Anyway, I gotta go into my computer and create a computer program to remind me to remind you on 12/01/10. I see you like to delegate the hard tasks to the dogs.

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