Crews installed and strung thousands of lights around this year’s holiday tree in West Market Square on Tuesday morning.
The tree — a 36-foot Norway Spruce — is believed to have been planted 30 years ago, according to Dan Sprague, owner of Sprague’s Nursery & Garden Center. That’s roughly when he began sourcing holiday trees for the city.
Dan McElvain, Sprague’s nephew and owner of Hartt’s Electric in Levant, donates his time and equipment each year to raise the tree so Bangor public works crews can secure it in the base, as the city doesn’t have a truck that can handle the weight of it.
Frasier Signal Technologies of Veazie helped the city’s electrical division of the public works department string the lights and place a star on the tree, which have been provided by the Rotary Club of Bangor each year since 2020. Stringing the lights around the 20-foot-wide tree takes three bucket trucks, according to the city.
While installing the tree is an annual tradition, it comes with a new lighting ceremony this year. The tree will be lit during an animated holiday light and music show in West Market Square, sponsored by Hollywood Casino. Residents can see the display during a lighting kickoff party on Nov. 29, also called “Plaid Friday” locally.
Downtown Bangor Partnership, a local nonprofit, and the city will coordinate the show and Scott Stitham, technical director for the Collins Center for the Arts, will help install and program the light show.
Residents and visitors have another chance to see the tree lit up at the city’s annual Festival of Lights parade on Dec. 7, put on by the Rotary Club of Bangor. The parade will begin at 4:30 p.m. but has a different route this year.
The procession will begin at the intersection of State and Exchange streets, and turn left to head toward the intersection of Main, Hammond and Central streets. It will then march up Main Street before turning at the intersection of Main and Water streets and continuing to Water and Washington streets. The parade will turn left on Washington before ending at the intersection of Washington and Exchange streets.
“Generations of families in Bangor and the surrounding area look forward to the annual Holiday Tree and Festival of Lights Parade,” Cara Pelletier, Bangor city council chairperson, wrote in a statement Tuesday. “And this year they will have the added feature of a light and music show. A special thanks must go to the many people who work diligently so that we can enjoy such a memorable community event.”
