The holiday season seems to get real with the Christmas tree lighting ceremony at Rockefeller Center in New York City every year.

Weeks after a 75-foot Douglas fir was delivered downtown, residents will attend the 40th-annual tree lighting ceremony downtown. The ceremony also includes performances from local groups and solo acts, such as Thomas Lauderdale from the Portland-based Pink Martini.

Downtown Knoxville will be decked out in holiday lights for the most wonderful time of the year. Here's when it all begins.

The tree-lighting ceremony on Saturday night will ignite the holiday celebration in The Villages. You'll want to get there early.

The community is invited to celebrate First Friday and the annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony with festivities beginning at 5:30 p.m. Friday at Macon Plaza. The City’s Parks Department

This year's ceremony, newly named "Light-Up River City, Evansville's Annual Tree Lighting and Holiday Kick-Off," will run from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., with the program beginning in front of the Civic Center at 6 p.m.

Crews are set to adorn the conifer with five miles of light strands, totaling more than 50,000 multicolored LED bulbs. A dazzling Swarovski star, featuring 3 million crystals, will crown the tree as its sparkling finale.

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