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Lucky Strike Tower Lighting Kicked Off Durham Holiday Events
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The Lucky Strike Tower on the American Tobacco Campus in Durham lit up for the holidays on Fri, Dec 5th. |
Thousands of feet of holiday garland and lights blanketed the American Tobacco Campus on Friday when the 134-year-old Lucky Strike Tower was lit.
The Big Light Switch was thrown for the fourth annual lighting of the Lucky Strike Tower just after 7:30pm. Friday. Artificial snow fell from the sky as part of the choreographed pageantry.
Organizers from Light Up Durham said they aim to make the tower lighting a family tradition in Durham, just like the famous tree lightings in New York and Washington, D.C.
Hundreds of poinsettias and seasonal planters will blanket the 250,000-square-foot campus. The event was free, and the first 500 people to arrive received holiday light sticks.
“It’s magic and it really is about family and friends,” Marion Youngblood, executive director of Light Up Durham, said.
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Watch video of the tower lighting on WRAL.com
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Members of Mt. Bethel Presbyterian Church and Mt. Sylvan United Methodist Church play the hand bells and choir chimes before the lighting of the tower. |
Highlights also included live performances by hand bells and choir chimes from Mt. Bethel Presbyterian Church and Mt. Sylvan United Methodist Church, choral groups from W.G. Pearson GT Magnet Elementary School, Little River Elementary School, Riverside High School and a special brass ensemble from Durham School of the Arts.
WRAL’s news personality Ken Smith hosted the event.
The celebration continued into Saturday, with free performances by 50 groups in five venues in downtown Durham. The performances surrounded Durham’s parade.
The Lucky Strike Tower Lighting will benefit from the expertise gained in the lighting of the WRAL-TV tower on Western Boulevard in Raleigh. Capitol Broadcasting, Inc., parent company of WRAL and American Tobacco Campus, has been lighting the TV tower for over 50 years.
Students from Little River Elementary School sing traditional Holiday songs, and one with a hip hop twist. |
WRAL’s Ken Smith starts the countdown for the tower lighting.
Fireworks accompanied the lighting. |
The Tower Lighting kicks off the Light Up Durham events for the weekend. |
Thanks to WRAL.com for this capcom story & photos.
