Arrival of Mayor’s Christmas Tree kicks off Kansas City’s holiday season

David McCune was on a mission when he brought his 2-year-old daughter Annalise and 6-month-old son Kieran to Crown Center this past week.

“It’s the first Christmas that she will remember,” McCune said of Annalise. “We are trying to do all the Christmas stuff this year.”

And on Thursday, that meant watching a flatbed tractor-trailer pull up with the Mayor’s Christmas Tree.

The family watched as the semi maneuvered into its temporary parking space. A massive banner heralding, “Merry Christmas Kansas City from Oregon” hung on the side of the wrapped up 100-foot-tall Douglas fir.

“This morning marks the start of the holiday season for us,” said Anne Deuschle, integrated marketing manager for Crown Center.

“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.

Cascade Timber Consulting of Oregon donated the Mayor’s Christmas Tree. A Crown Center representative traveled to Oregon to select it from a private forest.

To get the tree to Kansas City, branches had to be cut off. They will be reattached once the tree is lifted into place. But first, workers unwrapped the tree and strung more than 6,000 white lights onto it.

The next day, a crane was scheduled to lift the tree into its stand, where it will be the centerpiece for this holiday’s celebrations at Crown Center.

Red, gold and silver ball ornaments will adorn the tree. It also will feature new snowflakes and 50 specialty snowmen ornaments, oversized replicas of the 2011 “Pierced Snowman” Hallmark ornament.

The tree is a symbol of the Mayor’s Christmas Tree Fund, a charitable foundation that 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 be purchased online in advance. All proceeds benefit the Christmas tree fund.

“This tree has always been special,” said Mayor Sly James. “It’s taller than the tree at Rockefeller Center or the one at the White House. It’s nice to know that Kansas City in the middle of the country is standing taller than places on the East Coast.”

The concept of the tree, James said, is helping people who need help.

“We have gifts for kids who would ordinarily not get them,” James said. “We help people with their utility bills and things of that nature.”

The annual Mayor’s Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony takes place at 5:30 p.m. the day after Thanksgiving. This year, 2014 Olympic gold medal ice dancers Meryl Davis and Charlie White will help light the tree.

Maile Widman, who works at the nearby Spring Venture Group, said she just happened to see the tree as she was arriving at work. She sneaked out of work to take a look.

“It’s a lot bigger on the ground than I would have expected,” Widman said. “I’ve only seen it when it’s already been put up. It’s kind of a different experience getting to see the process of them unloading it and hooking it up. It’s a new way to appreciate it.”

As a content marketing specialist, she could justify getting out to do some social media posts about the tree.

“I think it’s a pretty iconic tree for the city,” she said. “Everybody loves to come see it at some time during the holiday season.”

This story was originally published November 4, 2016 at 7:00 AM with the headline "Arrival of Mayor’s Christmas Tree kicks off Kansas City’s holiday season."