Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone announced that the city’s annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony will take place Thursday, December 6 on the City Hall Concourse, followed by a meet and greet with Santa Claus in the Somerville High School Highlander Café (atrium entrance).  For the first time, this event will also include a ceremonial lighting of a Hanukkah Menorah, which will remain on the concourse throughout the season.

Finally, rounding out the 2012 holiday celebrations, residents and visitors are invited to the Somerville Arts Council’s Illuminations Tour on Saturday, December 15 beginning at 4:30pm.  The popular tour takes attendees aboard trolleys across the city to discover some of the most brightly decorated homes for the holiday season.  Beginning in 2011, a West Somerville Tour was added to the route, and residents citywide who are interested in having their homes featured on the tour should contact the Somerville Arts Council at 617-625-6600 ext 2985 by Friday, December 7.

The tree lighting ceremony will feature musical entertainment by:  the Somerville High School Band; the SHS Chorus and the Somerville Community Chorus; and El Sistema Somerville, the city’s new youth orchestra based on the international model. Special guest Santa Claus will be escorted by the Somerville Fire Department for the ceremony and will be available for photos following the tree lighting.  All children attending the ceremony will also receive a gift from Santa.

The annual Illuminations Trolley Tour is scheduled for Saturday, December 15^th, with tours departing from the City Hall Concourse beginning at 4:30pm. The 45-minute tours will showcase holiday light displays in our own Somerville. Tours leave from (and return to) Somerville City Hall where coffee, hot chocolate, and cookies are served. Entertainment at City Hall includes choral music, courtesy of the Somerville Community Chorus and craft activities for children.

Trolley Tour tickets are available at the Blue Cloud Gallery, 713 Broadway.  Tickets are $10.00 for adults and $5.00 for children and seniors.  For more information visit www.somervilleartscouncil.org.

For more information on other holiday events, please contact Nancy Aylward at 617-625-6600 ext 2100.