County's Tree Lighting Date Set

Black Friday may be the unofficial beginning of the Christmas shopping season, but the Monday after Thanksgiving is the official beginning of the season at the when the Citizen's Christmas Tree is lighted each year. The annual celebration this year, held on Nov. 28, begins at 6 p.m. with hot chocolate and cookies served by the Douglas County Master Gardeners, and the 7 p.m. program features music from the , the lighting of the tree. Santa will be arriving on a Douglas County fire truck.

The Citizen's Tree is a Deodora Cedar tree planted by Douglas County Commission Chairman Tom Worthan in 2006 as a gathering place for the citizens of the County to come together to celebrate community, friendship and fellowship. Since that time, the tree has annually been lighted on the Monday night after Thanksgiving with the community gathered together.

The Dorsett Shoals Elementary School Chorus is directed by Rick Sills, and this year is their first appearance at the tree lighting program. The chorus will present a holiday program and then lead the gathering in Christmas carols.

The tree lighting program also begins the celebration of the season inside the Courthouse.  The thirteenth annual Christmas Concerts in the Courthouse begin Tuesday, Nov. 29, in the Courthouse Atrium, and continue weekdays through Friday, Dec. 16. School choruses perform at 12:15 p.m. and 12:45 p.m. on the Grand Staircase of the Courthouse Atrium, and concerts are broadcast live on dctv23. The concerts are free and open to the public, and seating is available in the Courthouse Atrium. The concert schedule is available at www.CelebrateDouglasCounty.com.

Worthan stated that, "Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year, and our tree lighting program and the Concerts in the Courthouse give us the opportunity to hear the joyous sounds of children singing and celebrating the season. I invite all of Douglas County residents to join us."