The 2009 holiday tree lighting celebrations hosted by Mayor Thomas M. Menino and the Boston Parks and Recreation Department will kick off with the Trellis Lighting at Christopher Columbus Park in the North End on Monday, November 23, from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

The lighting display, sponsored by the Friends of Christopher Columbus Park and the Boston Parks and Recreation Department, bedecks all 260 feet of the trellises at the heart of the park with 50,000 bulbs in a unique blue and white design from November through April 1.

The free celebration will include entertainment sponsored by Fairmont Battery Wharf and the Friends of Christopher Columbus Park featuring a visit from Santa Claus and seasonal musical favorites from the North End Music and Performing Arts Center and the Ray Cavicchio Band. Revelers will be welcome to enjoy Mike's Pastry treats, Starbucks hot chocolate, cookies baked by the Marriott Long Wharf Hotel, and Legal Sea Foods' famous clam chowder.

Mayor Thomas M. Menino will join the Friends of Copley Square, the Boston Parks and Recreation Department, and Back Bay businesses and residents for the official Copley Square Tree Lighting at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, December 2.

The tree lighting, hosted by the Friends of Copley Square and the Boston Parks and Recreation Department, features the Salvation Army Brass Ensemble directed by Band Master Bill Rollins, the Trinity Church Children's Choir directed by Richard Webster, a sing-along, a visit from Santa Claus, and donated refreshments from local businesses including eggnog and Legal Sea Foods' famous clam chowder. The highlight will be the lighting of the 40-foot blue spruce sponsored by the Friends of Copley Square and Normandy Real Estate Partners.

The City of Boston's Official Tree Lighting comes to Boston Common on Thursday, December 3, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. This will be the 68th annual Tree Lighting on Boston Common, hosted by the Boston Parks and Recreation Department, title sponsor Nova Scotia Come to life, and media sponsors WCVB-TV Channel 5 and Magic 106.7 FM. The celebration will feature national and local performers with WCVB TV-5 providing live coverage hosted by Mary Richardson and Anthony Everett beginning at 7 p.m. There will be refreshments provided by in-kind sponsors including H.P. Hood LLC, Cabot Creamery, Nantucket Nectars and Snapple beverages, Dunkin' Donuts, Jazzy Apples, and New York Life.

The holiday decorations throughout Boston Common and the Public Garden, including the city's official Christmas tree, a 46-foot white spruce donated by Mr. and Mrs. Floyd Shatford of Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia, and selected by Ross Pentz of the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources, will light up in sequence when Mayor Menino throws the switch with Santa Claus.

The Holiday Lighting is made possible through the generosity of the Egan Family in memory of Ambassador Richard J. Egan with additional support provided by the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority, Suffolk University, and Emerson College. The annual holiday display includes the official Christmas tree and 40 trees throughout Boston Common with 10 additional trees around the skating rink sponsored by the Frog Pond Foundation.

The entertainment will include R&B singing sensation Brian McKnight, "American Idol" Season 6 third place finalist Melinda Doolittle, the Boston Arts Academy Dance Troupe, the Masquerade cabaret troupe, and Magic 106.7's Nancy Quill and Mike Addams.

This marks the eighth year that Nova Scotia joins with the City of Boston to present the Christmas tree on Boston Common. It is also the 38th year that Nova Scotia has given a tree to the people of Boston as thanks for relief efforts following the December 6, 1917, explosion of a munitions ship in Halifax Harbor. Within 24 hours of the disaster a train loaded with supplies and emergency personnel was making its way from Boston to Nova Scotia. 2009 marks the 92nd anniversary of the Halifax Explosion.

Immediately following the Boston Common tree lighting, Mayor Menino will join Back Bay residents at Arlington Street for the lighting of Commonwealth Avenue Mall. Two-hundred trees along the Mall will be lit through April 1 with elegant white lights sponsored for the sixth year through community support and private donations raised by the Committee to Light Commonwealth Avenue Mall. The celebration will include refreshments provided by Taj Boston.

For more information on the Boston Parks and Recreation Department's holiday tree lightings, please call (617) 635-4505.