DOWNTOWN — The lighting of the official Chicago Christmas tree — this year in Millennium Park — has been set.
• When: Friday
• Time: 6:30 p.m.
• Entertainment: Begins at 6 p.m. Performers include the casts of the musicals "Stomp" and "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer."
• What happened to Daley Plaza? The tree moved to Millennium Park last year after 48 years in Daley Plaza. Officials said the move was part of an effort to create a "winter campus." Other activities include Caroling at Cloud Gate ("The Bean"), skating at Millennium Park and at the "ribbon"in Maggie Daley Park, and visits/photos with Santa Claus at the park's holiday "welcome center."
Listen to Heather share details on the tree lighting.
See DNAinfo's Neighborhood Picks in the 2016 Holiday Guide
• Back to the future: According to city historians, Chicago's first official Christmas tree was lit by Mayor Carter Harrison in 1913 in Grant Park at Monroe and Michigan. For more than 50 years an official tree was set up in various locations throughout the park. Starting in 1966, Daley Plaza became the official site for the annual ceremony, except for 1982 when the tree stood at State Street and Wacker Drive.
• Where did it come from? This year's tree, a 69-foot Norway Spruce, was donated by a family in suburban Wauconda.
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