Get the lights ready: KC mayor’s 100-foot Christmas Tree arrives

The Mayor’s Christmas Tree arrived in Crown Center Thursday morning on a flatbed tractor-trailer — with a police escort.

“This morning marks the start of the holiday season for us,” Anne Deuschle, integrated marketing manager for Crown Center, said about the arrival of the 100-foot Douglas fir.

“It has made a 2,000-mile journey from Oregon brought to us on an oversized trailer that is custom-made to bring the tree into Kansas City,” she said.

The tree arrived about 9 a.m. Thursday, and shortly after the truck was maneuvered into a temporary parking spot, workers began unwrapping the tree. They were spending Thursday stringing more than 6,000 white lights on it.

About 10 a.m. Friday, a crane will lift the tree into its stand, where it be the centerpiece of the holiday celebrations at Crown Center.

The tree is a symbol of the Mayor’s Christmas Tree Fund, a charitable foundation the provides assistance to the underprivileged in Kansas City.

At the end of the season, the tree is recycled and turned into the following year’s Mayor’s Christmas Tree Ornament, which is designed by Hallmark.

This year’s ornament is Festive Fox, which goes on sale for $13.95 the day after Thanksgiving. It can currently be purchased online. All proceeds benefit the Christmas tree fund.

This story was originally published November 3, 2016 at 1:00 PM.