Lansing to hold first-ever tree lighting event

This is the time of year when many municipalities across the county look forward to the return of their annual tree lighting festivities, but Lansing hasn’t had a tree lighting celebration of its own — until now.

Lansing’s First Annual Holiday Tree Lighting Celebration (t.ly/yU25) is scheduled for Dec. 11 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Lansing Ball Fields. The event is the brainchild of Lansing resident Brenda Arcangeli, the event’s lead coordinator.

Before this year, Arcangeli loved being a part of her community but hadn’t planned any communitywide events. But a few months ago, her mind wandered to all the other towns that would soon be holding their annual tree lightings, and she lamented how “our town has never had one,” she said.

“Back in early October, I was gone away horse camping and got to thinking about a Christmas tree lighting, ‘Oh, I wonder if I could organize something like [a tree lighting] for our town,’” she said. “I started talking about this to a friend of mine, and she mentioned the one that they had every year in the town she lived in, so from that point on, I started to get the ball rolling.”

From that conversation, Arcangeli hit the ground running to make her idea a reality, contacting Patrick Tyrrell at the Lansing Town Recreation Department for approval to have the tree lighting at the Lansing Town Ball Fields. Moore Tree Farm donated the 20-foot tree for the event, and Arcangeli said they were very happy to hear of this event taking place.

Arcangeli said that the planning process for the tree lighting has gone very smooth and “it has helped that I have lived in Lansing my whole life and I know most everyone here in town.”

“I know so many people in the town of Lansing, as I was born and raised in the town, so it was easy for me to reach out to [folks] such as the Lansing Fire Department and the Tompkins County Sheriff’s Department for their help with escorting Santa to the ball field; Alex Cole Paving, who donated the Christmas lights; Lansing Market and Crossroads Bar and Grill for donating cookies; Lakewatch Inn for donating hot cocoa; Salt Point Brewery for donating the cups and napkins; TNJ cookies and cups; Gorges Dental for donating the candy canes, as well as Cargill for their donation [and] my family and friends for helping volunteer and building a sleigh,” she said.

Arcangeli added that she purposely tried to keep things relatively simple the first time around.

“I thought being that it’s the first annual Christmas tree lighting that I would keep it really simple with just Santa Claus, hot cocoa and some cookies and … Christmas music,” she said. “I don’t know how many numbers we’re expecting, but it sounds like a lot. So, I really wanted to keep it stress free.”

Valerie McMillen, president of the Lansing Events Committee, has also been helping along the way, Arcangeli said, for which she is very grateful.

“I reached out to Valerie in general just to get her input to see what she thought of the idea,” Arcengeli said. “Valerie thought it was a great idea. Valerie has helped me a great deal from the start! We both thought [of] keeping it simple this year and then maybe next year add a few more options to this event.”

Everyone Arcangeli has spoken to regarding the event has been just as excited as her for the chance for Lansing to finally have a tree lighting celebration of its own.

“The community has been nothing but wonderful and supportive,” she said. “I’m so humbled. It’s a special time of the year. With everything that’s been going on in the last couple years in our world, I thought it would be a special time for people to get together and celebrate the season.”

This weekend, residents can look forward to various festivities around the tree lighting, including cookies, hot cocoa and Santa, along with a surprise guest. Arcangeli said she has high hopes for the event and plans to keep it going next year and several years after.

“I just hope it’s something that the town of Lansing and people that live here, look forward to or anybody beyond in neighboring towns,” she said. “I hope other people come and enjoy the time [with] people that they may have not seen in a long time. … This is going to be such an amazing night.”

For more information, visit the previously listed event link.

Lansing at Large appears every week in Tompkins Weekly. Send story ideas to editorial@vizellamedia.com.