By Nicole Breskin
DNAinfo Reporter / Producer
ROCKEFELLER CENTER — Even a rainy night couldn't keep New Yorkers and tourists away from the Rockefeller Tree Lighting Ceremony on Wednesday.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg and actors Jane Krakowski and Zach Levi flipped the switch on the 76-foot-tall Norway Spruce, lighting up Rockefeller Center and signifying the ceremonial start to the holiday season in Manhattan.
“It’s exhilarating," said Midtown West resident Ed Garcia. "It’s the beginning of the Christmas season.”
Garcia had never watched the tree lighting ceremony before. The paralegal called in sick to work and arrived in Rockefeller Center by 2:30 p.m. to score prime real estate near the tree.
“Of course I didn’t tell my boss I was going to see the tree," Garcia said.
Tens of thousands of people packed the streets around the giant tree despite a steady rain. Aretha Franklin, Barry Manilow, Alicia Keys, the Radio City Rockettes and many other musical acts performed for the crowd before the tree was lit.
The 40-foot-wide tree weighs 10 tons and is decorated with 30,000 multicolored lights and topped with a Swarovski crystal star.
Irma Labiosa, 55, of Williamsburg, came into Manhattan with longtime friend Celsa Magris, 59, of Park Slope.
“It’s a special tree. There’s no other like it,” said Magris. “It’s so big, it’s like it has a twin.”
Though the pair had lived in New York almost all their lives, they never witnessed the tree lighting ceremony in person.
“I didn’t have the energy,” said Labiosa. “But now it’s great. It really gets you in the spirit.”
Approximately 750,000 people come through the Rockefeller Center plaza every day once the tree is lit, center spokesman Keith Douglas told the Associated Press.
The tree will remain lit until Jan. 7.