Even though Halloween has yet to arrive, preparations have already begun for the arrival of the 2024 Rockefeller Center Christmas tree. The tree that will preside over the iconic ice rink this holiday season has been chosen. It is a 70-year-old Norway Spruce from the Albert family's home in West Stockbridge, Massachusetts, in the Southern Berkshires region. This year marks the first time a tree from Massachusetts has been chosen for Rockefeller Center since 1959.
The Albert family's tree stands 74 feet tall, 43 feet wide, and weighs approximately 11 tons. These stats are pretty comparable to last year's tree, a Norway Spruce from Vestal, New York. Over the past decade, most of the Rockefeller Center trees have been picked from areas around New York State, with the exception of a couple from Pennsylvania and the 2021 tree—the first tree ever chosen from Maryland. Since 1978, all but one tree has been a Norway Spruce.
Every year, Rockefeller Center's head gardener Erik Pauze has the honor and responsibility of choosing a tree for the Center Plaza. It's a job he has fulfilled for more than thirty years. Pauze told The Center Magazine that the process for picking the tree is “somewhat different every year. Typically, the timeline is that all year, almost every day, I’m thinking about this year’s Tree, next year’s Tree, and maybe the Tree after that.”
The tree will be cut down on November 7th and arrive in New York City two days later. The family who donates the tree receives a replacement or other form of greenery. Once installed above Prometheus statue, the tree will be covered in over 50,000 multi-colored LEDs and topped with a Swarovski star that glistens with 3 million crystals. This year's annual lighting ceremony is set to take place on Wednesday, December 4, 2024.
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Visiting the Berkshires and need a place to stay? Check out Maison Berkshires, a beautiful historic colonial home on seven acres, just 15 minutes from Great Barrington!
