Central Park To Hold Annual Holiday Lights Ceremony

CENTRAL PARK, NY — New Yorkers who want to skip the madness and crowds of tourists of the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting should head to Central Park on Thursday to ring in the holiday season.

The Central Park Conservancy, the nonprofit that handles day-yo-day maintenance of Manhattan's largest park, will host its 22nd annual holiday lighting ceremony. The event features caroling on Central Park's Plaza and snacks such as hot cocoa and cookies, according to the Conservancy.

Parents are encouraged to bring their kids to the family-friend event for the chance to meet Santa. The main event will be the lighting of a flotilla of Christmas trees stationed on the surface of the Harlem Meer in the northeast corner of the park. The light switch is expected to be flipped around 6-6:30 p.m., according to the city Parks Department.

The ceremony begins around 5:30 p.m. at the Charles A. Dana Discovery Center in the northeast corner of Central Park.

Residents of the west side of Manhattan who may not want to trek all the way to the Harlem Meer can catch a separate holiday lighting at the Tavern on The Green restaurant. A 20-foot tree decorated with 2,000 ornaments will stand on the restaurant's courtyard flanked by several other 8-to-12-foot Noble Firs. The restaurant itself will be covered in more than 10,000 lights, according to a press release.

The event at the Tavern on the Green features mulled cider and hot chocolate tastings, the restaurants cookies and donuts and live holiday music performed by LaGuardia High School students. Tavern on the Green's event begins around 5 p.m. and ends around 7 p.m.

Photo by Renee Schiavone/Patch