Thousands of people will once again gather in Midtown Manhattan to witness the Christmas tree lighting at the Rockefeller Center. The 75-foot tree will be lit for the first time on Wednesday, Nov. 29, at 7 p.m. EST. The tree can be seen on the plaza between West 48th and 51st Streets and Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It will remain lit until 9 p.m. EST on Jan. 7, 2018.
The event will also feature live musical performances that will run until 9 p.m. EST. Different performers will grace the occasion including Brett Eldredge, Jennifer Nettles, Leslie Odom Jr., Pentatonix, Gwen Stefani, and The Tenors at 30 Rockefeller Plaza.
The Christmas tree lighting will be aired live on NBC. Anchors Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb, Matt Lauer, and Al Roker will handle the emcee duties for the broadcast of the event starting at 8 p.m. EST. It will also be available via live stream on NBCNewYork.com. For mobile users, the event will be live on NBC New York or through the NBC App or FuboTV.
The tree was discovered by Rockefeller Center head gardener Erik Pauze while he was driving in 2010. It was delivered to New York from Pennsylvania earlier this month.
After the event, the tree will be donated to Habitat for Humanity. It will be milled, treated and made into lumber that will be used to build homes for the needy. This is the eleventh year that the Rockefeller Center will donate a tree to the Habitat for Humanity. It is considered a symbol of hope and it even inspired a children's book titled "The Carpenter's Gift." David Rubel wrote the book and Jim Lamarche did the illustration work for it.
On the other hand, since a huge crowd is expected to attend the lighting ceremony, the New York Police Department (NYPD) will close some of the streets near the Rockefeller Center. Attendees are advised to travel by public transportation or use the closest subway to the plaza which is the 47-50th Street Rockefeller Center station on B, D, F, and M lines.
